Women 200lb+, Let's Aspire to Inspire this August!!!

RavenStCloud
RavenStCloud Posts: 366 Member
in Motivation and Support
🌞Hello, ladies, and Happy August!!!🌞

🌞This month we are inspiring ourselves and others with all our hard work! There's only one month left of summer(for most of us, at least)! How do you hope to spend it? Any plans lined up, big or small?

🌞 What is something that you need to work a little harder on or, conversely, an area you've already applied yourself to and have shown improvement in? What are you proudest of so far this year?

💛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.

💛In this group, we post our weekly and monthly goals and provide support and motivation to each other as we share our triumphs and our struggles. This group is all about accountability.

💛All are welcome and, if you think you belong here, you do! No matter how much you currently weigh or how you measure (or don't measure) your weight, we'd love to hear from you.

💛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!

🌞Let's be amazing, awesome, and aspirational this August!!!🌞
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Replies

  • EmJustEm05
    EmJustEm05 Posts: 23 Member
    Where is this group?? I didn’t know MFP had groups..!
  • KeriA
    KeriA Posts: 3,338 Member
    Keri

    Thanks @RavenStCloud for this August thread!

    71 years old

    Challenge Starting Weight: 260 Pre-retirement weight 262 June 2024
    Challenge Aug Starting weight: 254.8

    UGW: 167 (healthy weight for a senior woman my height)
    5'6" Tall
    I do check-ins when I lose:

    8/1: 254.8
    July Weignt loss: 5.6 lbs.

    August Goals:
    • August GW: If possible get into the 240s or very close
    • Keep my water intake up
    • Keep getting 7+ hours of sleep
    • Meal plan and cook 3+ dinners (my husband and youngest will cook some dinners too)
    • Eat healthy breakfasts (only 1 day a week at a café with Latte etc.) – Yes.
    • Work up to 30 minutes of exercise 5-6 days a week – 1 day of aquafit, 1 day of weight training, 4 days of walking increasing lengths of time)
    • Up NEAT (non exercise activity) daily such as cooking and cleaning etc.

    🌞This month we are inspiring ourselves and others with all our hard work! There's only one month left of summer(for most of us, at least)! How do you hope to spend it? Any plans lined up, big or small?
    I hope to spend August continuing to researching and getting healthy and stronger and establishing a healthy routine now that I am retired. We are finally having our family and friends over for a gathering since we remodeled out kitchen and have done some decluttering.

    🌞 What is something that you need to work a little harder on or, conversely, an area you've already applied yourself to and have shown improvement in? What are you proudest of so far this year?
    I am starting to add more exercise into my life but I need to up the NEAT and add strength, balance and stretching in. We are starting to cook consistently at home which means healthy meals. My breakfasts are healthier. I am making sure we getting really healthy nutrients. I lost over 5 lbs last month!
  • KeriA
    KeriA Posts: 3,338 Member
    EmJustEm05 wrote: »
    Where is this group?? I didn’t know MFP had groups..!

    MFP has groups but this is a continuing Thread that is posted each month so it does operate somewhat like a group.
  • KeriA
    KeriA Posts: 3,338 Member
    @Jensmakingprogress I relate to much of what you stated as your focus. I need to lose weight to get healthier but health is the focus for me. I am tracking my weight, food and exercise but I have found that when we make our meals at home and I get regular exercise I lose. Exercise isn’t needed to lose but it is needed to be healthy. I have been logging enough that I have a sense of how much I can eat. By tracking I realized I am eating less calories which I think has to do with adding in some healthy nutrients to my diet. I have found that calories in calories out doesn’t explain my weight loss. What I eat seems to be important. I liked what you said about focusing 1st on core strength. That is where you need to start and I find aquafit helps me a lot with that but your comment reminded me that I need to address weight bearing core strength as well.

    @jenbroussard71 you also stressed focusing on core strength and balance. I have to start with stamina by walking more but am hoping to add in strength training, balance, and stretching because I am older and we lose muscle mass as we age. I am looking into healthy sources of more protein to support this.
  • Jensmakingprogress
    Jensmakingprogress Posts: 230 Member
    @KeriA For me calories in vs calories out doesn’t explain weight loss either. I’ve found keeping a daily journal that tracks what and when I’m eating has provided more insight than actual calories. Personally, eating carbs at night tends to result in a higher number on the scale the next day so I’ve tried to limit or eliminate as much as possible carbs at night. Logging daily also helped me recognize that I was not drinking enough water (only 30-40 oz a day).

    Exercise for me is a reason to take a break from the day. Whether it’s a walk outside or an exercise program. I’ve started using exercise as my stress relief and I’m finding the joy in sweating!

    @jenbroussard71 I totally relate to weight lifting making you feel like a bad a**!!
  • lisakatz2
    lisakatz2 Posts: 537 Member
    Jensmakingprogress wrote: »
    Personally, eating carbs at night tends to result in a higher number on the scale the next day so I’ve tried to limit or eliminate as much as possible carbs at night.

    If you're eating starchy carbs at night like pasta, rice, potatoes, etc. you see a "gain" on the scale the next day because of water retention.

    I think I'm similar to you, I don't eat starchy carbs at night because I figure I'm not active then, so I don't need the energy plus, I don't like the day-after bloat. I typically eat a protein (fish, chicken, lean beef) and a steamed non-starchy vegetable for dinner, accompanied with a green salad, lots of tomatoes included!

  • jo_casey42
    jo_casey42 Posts: 124 Member
    SW: 253
    CW: 237
    First Goal: Onederland
    UGW: TBD

    Goals:
    30-60 min walk most days of the week.
    Weigh in daily
    Track everything no matter what
    Eat lots and lots of zero point foods
    WW Workshop everyday
    Get 8 hours of sleep
    Drink lots of water

    Weigh in day Thursdays
    Aug 1: 236.8
    Aug 8:
    Aug 15:
    Aug 22:
    Aug 29:
  • Jensmakingprogress
    Jensmakingprogress Posts: 230 Member
    SW: 223
    CW: 207

    Small goal weight: Onederland
    GW: Whatever weight I am when I hit the physique I’m looking for.

    Goals:
    90-100 oz of water
    2 mile walk
    Mobility improvement
    Core building
    Increase daily protein intake


    Weigh in day Friday
    Aug 2: 207
    Aug 9:
    Aug 16:
    Aug 23:
    Aug 30:
  • CupcakeCrusoe
    CupcakeCrusoe Posts: 1,426 Member
    edited August 3
    Good morning everyone! Thank you so much @RavenStCloud as always!! :heart:

    Happy August!

    Saturday weigh in days
    Christina
    35 years old
    5'4"

    SW: 220ish
    Re-SW (Feb 2022): 200.4
    UGW: 150
    2024 goal weight: 165
    SW 2024: 182.7

    🌈 August Goals!🌈
    🌈 August GW Average: 182

    August SW 8/1: 186.4
    8/3: 183.6

    🔵Log everything in grams
    🟢Work out >3x a week
    🟡Calories<1700/day

    I've got my hobonichi weeks to play with for the rest of the year, I'm doing a little graphing in there of some metrics to see if I can see patterns with my cycle.

    7yodyxc7in6e.png

    The communists have finally left the funhouse :lol: so that's why that sudden drop, I think.

    I've been stressed all week, being a stand-in supervisor while my supervisor goes on vacation. I'm trying to relax this weekend and let stuff go while still getting stuff done, if that makes sense. Because if I don't get anything done this weekend, I'm going to be stressed again come Monday.

    So I started my day today doing some long overdue weeding of my front flower and berry beds. I can't say it was enjoyable, but I'm glad that I did it, now that it's done. I've also gotten laundry started, picked up my prescription, picked up the groceries, got our 8x10 anniversary picture so we can do the picture-in-picture again (real thread heads know :tongue:), and I'm making a chocolate banana cake to use up two bananas on their last legs. I still need to evaluate our canning supplies, because I need to preserve the incredible amount of figs coming off our trees right now. And we have a party later, haha.

    All that said, I'll do a tag party later, so nice to see you all here!
  • jenbroussard71
    jenbroussard71 Posts: 281 Member
    Jennifer
    Re-started 4/24/24 - 236.2
    CW: 209.6
    GW: 165 (may adjust when I get there)
    5'3" Tall


    Monday weigh in:
    8/1 - 210
    8/5 - 209.6
    8/12
    8/19
    8/26
    8/31

    August # loss - 0.4

    End of Summer Goal - onederland!
    Things I want to focus on in August:
    - Better sleep - I will wear my CPAP every night (now that I found a mask that works for me)
    - More H2O
    - Work on my balance and core
    - Weights / strength training 2x per week & walk 2x per week.

    The scale is not moving a whole lot, but I know this will correct itself if I put in the work. It's just hard sometimes to remember when I step on that darn thing! I looked at some of the other information that my "smart" scale provides. My body fat percentage has dropped 7% since April 24th.

    As for the homework Starla gave me I only got 1 workout in on Friday. On Sunday I had over 12K in steps, cleaned my house and did all of the laundry - I even folded and put it all away (which usually takes me 5 - 10 business days LOL).

    Hope you all are doing great on this Monday morning!
  • Jensmakingprogress
    Jensmakingprogress Posts: 230 Member
    @jenbroussard71 Well done on the 7% drop!!
  • Jensmakingprogress
    Jensmakingprogress Posts: 230 Member
    GardenQueen30 wrote: »
    Hi!

    Another victory, I think. The owner of my gym proposed doing a nutrition plan for me, and I agreed, but he wanted me to do a 2 week “metabolic reset” which is extremely low-calorie. I knew immediately in my gut it would be bad for me. I’ve made so, so much progress in my eating habits over the last few years, and I’m not interested in throwing it all away for another crash diet. I’m at home full time with my kids, and I need to be present with them, not hangry and emotional and losing sleep because I’m so hungry. The owner of my gym is not a dietician, and I have to believe there is a slower, more reasonable way. Because I’m obese it’s hard to trust myself and walk away from something like that, but I think I did the right thing.

    Have a great day you all!!

    Trust your gut! While you may not be a nutrition expert, you're the expert on yourself and your mental health. If I've learned anything on this journey, it's that mental health plays a HUGE role in our (or at least my) ability to lose weight. Even if you're losing slowly, you're still losing and you've committed to changes that work for you. It sounds like you did the right thing by walking away. You will find the plan that allows you to maintain consistency and make this a lifetime change, not a fad diet.

  • Cinnamonpimp
    Cinnamonpimp Posts: 6 Member
    Hello all! Faith here, 26 years old. 😊

    GW: 150
    HT: 5'2"

    MONDAY CHECK INS:
    8/5: 258.94 lbs - 117.7 kg
    8/12:
    8/19:
    8/26:

    YAY: I'm excited for a new month! I'm feeling like I've got a little more control over my eating habits, or I am at least more aware and consciencious of the choices I'm making.

    NAY: This last 2 weeks I have felt extremely stagnant moevement/exercise wise. Work hasn't had me on my feet as much, and when I get home I get sucked into doom scrolling and don't get any sort of movement or actual happy making hobby stuff in.

    GOALS:

    -Log food consistently, INCLUDING weekends; but not strictly enough to feel guilty for missing a day here and there.

    -Consistency with Monday weigh-ins, posting check ins, and interacting with the group!

    -Hit 6,000 steps on weekdays

    -Limit mindless scrolling and incorporate at least 3 physical and/or happy hobby activities per week

    Thank you for reading!
  • KeriA
    KeriA Posts: 3,338 Member
    At the end of July I made a lot of progress losing weight. I had a feeling it wouldn’t last and I was right. I have started to gain back a bit of the weight I lost which is typical of me. My weight usually varies a lot so it was the consistent loss that was unusual. However I looked at my spreadsheet and looked at the differences between the week I was losing and the week when I started to gain again. My calories seemed about the same but I have been exercising more consistently. I know that the week before it was easier to wait to eat and to stop eating when satisfied but my calories are still similar. So I need to adjust for exercise. It could be that I need more calories or that it isn’t how much but what I am eating. I am really trying to eat really nutritious food. I recently tried red spinach which is even better than spinach for you. I am not sure I was getting enough of the good fats this past week but last night we had salmon. We need to make sure we have avocados around. I think I haven’t had as much of this green tea with ginger and turmeric this week.

    We are having a party this weekend so I am getting more NEAT cleaning house.

    @CupcakeCrusoe I looked up Hobonichi weeks to see what it was. I have a bullet journal I am using to get organized in retirement. I may find eventually something else will work better so I was interested to see. Hope you get through this stressful period well.
    @ammajay916 I haven’t been diagnosed with anything yet but I feel like the cut offs are high and I want to get lower on some things to prevent typical diseases that can come with age. Weight is an indication of issues and exercise helps with all health issues. I am concentrating on what I eat but have been reading about the health benefits of calorie deficit. So I am here for my health too but logging exercise and what I am eating should help with that. Losing weight will indicate I am on the right track for now.
    @mifroggett Working too much makes it hard for me to be healthy. Hope getting your masters will give you more time to focus on health.
  • kiteflyer105
    kiteflyer105 Posts: 170 Member
    Happy August! I met a goal, which is a big thrill. I completed my first 3 miles walking, since my heart surgery 7 months ago! It was so hot. I had to stop and sit down several times, to be honest. I was walking too fast. Unfortunately, my hips did not appreciate that...I feel blessed though. For a year, due to illness, I have not been physically active daily. At the end my friend's dog was walking me, lol! That was much needed. I saw a horse and bamboo growing beside the path. I never noticed that before. I decided to start with the 2 mile baseline and eventually work my way up from there moving forward.

    I am looking up different recipes to try like: tropical kale salad, zucchini soup, shrimp pad tai, pesto chicken thighs, quesadillas, etc. I will be cooking artichokes, which for some reason intimated me. I need to have a variety of food in my life. Occasionally, I succumb to Snickers ice cream bars. Hooray! One of the greatest inventions ever, especially on a day like today. =)

    My ED therapist gave me a podcast on intuitive eating to listen to, and we discussed switching to body neutrality. Embarrassingly, I had never thought about it before, meaning I thought that was for other people. I admire people that remain positive over their bodies. It is difficult to do a 360 instantaneously. It will take time to rewire my brain.

    Habits I have stopped are: buying to much food at the grocery store, going out to eat too often and instead, preparing high quality nutritious food, portion control, and drinking 8-10 glasses of water a day I want to get into minimalist buying,

    I went in the pool for the first time this week. I am still nervous to swim laps though. I am alarmed that my ICD machine may shock me. This keeps me on my toes. Doggy paddling worked for me....

    Have a great month everyone.
  • KeriA
    KeriA Posts: 3,338 Member
    @kiteflyer105 congrats on making your goal.

    My weight is starting down again so hopefully I will be down to my July low weight and can progress. I am back to drinking my Green Ginger Turmeric Tea not everyday but a few times a week. I add pepper to insure the turmeric works. It is good for many things like inflammation, cholesterol lowering, metabolism etc. I didn't walk as much yesterday but we took our ballots in to the drop box in our neighborhood and it was uphill. Today my goal is to clean my kitchen to get ready for the party we are having this weekend. 1st time showing off our new kitchen. But actually it is because after the kitchen remodel we have been decluttering so we feel like we can have people over more. We still need to paint the rest of our house and get new window coverings.
  • Jensmakingprogress
    Jensmakingprogress Posts: 230 Member
    @kiteflyer105 Congrats on hitting a goal!! You’re 100% correct on the Snickers ice cream bars! Love, love, love those.
  • quolwy
    quolwy Posts: 81 Member
    Hey there, just checking in with my updates!

    Starting weight: 219 lbs (6/10/24)
    Ending weight: 212.2 lbs (7/31/24)
    Total loss: -6.8lbs
    Goal weight: 150-165lbs
    Goal Body Fat: 20-25%

    Goals for August: ✔
    - 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 208lbs at the end of the month (-5.6lbs)

    AUGUST:
    1st: 213.6 lbs
    2nd: 212.4 lbs
    3rd: 212.8 lbs
    4th: 212.4 lbs
    5th: 213 lbs
    6th: 212.6 lbs
    7th: 211.6 lbs

    Non weight Successes:
    - Went to the gym despite not feeling up to it, and ended up squatting heavier than I have before at this gym!
    - I got a bit off track for a couple days last week, but realized what I was eating wasn't making me FEEL great, and naturally moved back into a healthier state of eating and I'm feeling much better!

    I'm planning on measuring myself again once I hit 210lbs, just to see what changes there are. I know I've been losing fat and gaining muscle, but it will be nice to compare the other numbers since the scale isn't going down as quickly as I'm used to :)
  • jo_casey42
    jo_casey42 Posts: 124 Member
    SW: 253
    CW: 237
    First Goal: Onederland
    UGW: TBD

    Goals:
    30-60 min walk most days of the week.
    Weigh in daily
    Track everything no matter what
    Eat lots and lots of zero point foods
    WW Workshop everyday
    Get 8 hours of sleep
    Drink lots of water

    Weigh in day Thursdays
    Aug 1: 236.8
    Aug 8: 237.2 (going the wrong way :( had a rough weekend. Hopefully this week will be better)
    Aug 15:
    Aug 22:
    Aug 29:
  • Jensmakingprogress
    Jensmakingprogress Posts: 230 Member

    SW: 223

    Small goal weight: Onederland
    GW: Whatever weight I am when I hit the physique I’m looking for.

    Monthly Goals:
    90-100 oz of water
    2 mile walk
    Mobility improvement
    Core building
    Increase daily protein intake


    Weigh in day Friday
    Aug 2: 207
    Aug 9: 205
    Aug 16:
    Aug 23:
    Aug 30:

    It’s been a good week overall. I worked on my mental space surrounding weight loss this week, and it’s been positive. I bought pants that were too small to give me another “scale”. One of those pairs unexpectedly fit already. Then I went through my closet and got rid of clothes I don’t wear because they didn’t make me feel good. Found a few shirts that I hadn’t been able to wear, but when I tried them on they fit well and looked good. I’ve also quit putting so much pressure on myself for counting calories and I’m working on more attention to macros.
  • SirOnionKnight
    SirOnionKnight Posts: 83 Member
    Hey guys♥ Reporting in for this second week
    The heatwave over here is really bad right now, so I am sort of ko most of the time, but I am still trying to get some exercise in.

    Some stats~
    SW: 123.8kg (272lbs) in April 2023
    CW: 100.1kg (220lbs)
    Small Goal: be below 100kg
    GW: 66kg (145lbs)

    August:
    week 01: 100.8kg (222lbs)
    week 02: 100.1kg (220lbs)
    week 03:
    week o4:

    I am so close to my goal to be below 100kg! I hope to reach the goal in this upcoming week T_T
  • jenbroussard71
    jenbroussard71 Posts: 281 Member
    Jennifer
    Re-started 4/24/24 - 236.2
    CW: 209.4
    GW: 165 (may adjust when I get there)
    5'3" Tall


    Monday weigh in:
    8/1 - 210
    8/5 - 209.6
    8/12 - 209.4
    8/19
    8/26
    8/31
    August loss - 0.6

    End of Summer Goal - onederland!

    Things I want to focus on in August:
    - Better sleep - I will wear my CPAP every night (now that I found a mask that works for me)
    - More H2O
    - Work on my balance and core
    - Weights / strength training 2x per week & walk 2x per week.

    I did meet my workout goals this past week. The scale barely moved - I may need to only weigh in every other week - this may help my outlook. I am trying to not focus on the number but I have worked in accounting my whole adult life and numbers don't lie. But in the case of the scale you don't get the whole story sometimes. For example the scale doesn't take into consideration that I had strep throat this past week, which called for a steroid shot, antibiotics and prednisone. In my past experience the steroid shot alone would put 5 pounds on me.

    It's hard to put in this much work for food prep, tracking and exercise and see only a .2 loss. I keep trying to tell myself this will not matter in 4 to 6 weeks, but I sometimes struggle with wanting instant gratification / results. I need to realize that I am not doing this for the pounds loss - I am doing this for a healthy future. I just need to keep things in perspective and keep pushing forward.

    Hope you all have a great day and better week!
  • Jensmakingprogress
    Jensmakingprogress Posts: 230 Member
    @jenbroussard71 I’m not sure if this will help, but when I start fixating on the scale, I try to look at where I’ve come from. You’ve lost 27 pounds in three months! That’s fantastic progress. You were sick and still hit your activity and nutrition goals. Prednisone is a nasty drug, even if a necessary one. I’m sure once you’re finished with meds, since you’ve stayed consistent with everything else, you’ll be excited by the rebound your body makes.

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