[LauraRVA42011]

Happy Tuesday all!

Ramping up to adding running to my workouts. So excited as I've been wanting to return to running for years but dared not until I was in the 250s to start.

DayDreamer I have a Fitbit Flex and as long as I'm not holding onto the treadmill, it does record. I was so frustrated last week as I kept checking my heart rate using the handles and when I looked at my workout on the app, it showed my stopping every few minutes and credited me with only half the steps I took! This morning I wore a HR monitor instead and did not hold onto the treadmill at all; happily I was credited with the full time and step count for the workout, so it does work. It's like when you're grocery shopping and pushing the cart, I have not had any fitness tracker count my steps when I'm walking around the grocery store if pushing the cart. Now I look ridiculous balancing a ton of stuff in one of those little baskets (when I remember to grab one) so I get credit for walking in the store. That is something they really need to fix.

One time I had a Garmin that I put in my pocket, but even then I'm not sure it was accurate.

I like the feature where it buzzes if you've not gotten in 250 steps within an hour on the clock (buzzes at ten to the hour so you can get the steps in). Overall I am happy with my trackers and find they do spur me on to keep active.

**Edited to add: My co-worker has the Fitbit Surge and he says it does record even if he's holding onto the treadmill as it captures the vibration. So I guess depending on what you're willing to spend, you can find one that will work.

[Gemini6]

Morning/Afternoon!

Vladadog – Great job on all the mileage!

Laura - Enjoy your ramp up to running! So fun!

Casey – Good for you getting the scale love and all that extra exercise, too! I bet you are losing a ton of inches! I was doing the same thing when I talked to my mom. Even if I was indoors, I would walk in place to get those steps in because I try to check on her every day and she gets mad or thinks I’m mad if I try to make it a quick call. Go us!

DayDreamer – You still have a good downward trend which is much better than the alternative! One thing about restaurant food is the salt/seasonings/etc. so even if you have a nice anniversary meal of 1000 calories, just brace for a slight uptick of water and you’ll be back to normal in a day or two. Enjoy, but not enough to completely derail your efforts and you'll be proud.

The Fitbit does have some flaws, but you can get around most of them by swinging your arms with each step due to the algorithm settings; I do that most of the time anyway especially when I’m trying to speed walk to give me the extra push. I just went back and re-read that others had already said most of what I was about to say, but I will add. From personal experience and only speaking for the Blaze and the previous Force, I agree with Laura about the shopping cart experience. It annoys me because I do so much walking when I am shopping especially at a warehouse. I have found various ways around it, but it gets tiresome trying to push a basket with one arm or carry everything with one arm. Don’t tell anyone, but you can sit and register as many steps as you want by just the proper swing of your arm. People are always trying to fool that thing when they are being monitored. In my defense, I only did that once in a car because I was like 2 steps away of getting my 12 (every) hour walking goal (due to it not registering properly) and couldn’t stop. I also know some people put them on their ankles to get true steps. They make accessories online for these things I hear...

My stomach is barking at me big time today. I guess that is a good thing. I am still chugging along. I feel so incredibly lazy. It is odd not to be wearing my watch and getting that reminder to get up to get my 250 in each hour. I keep feeling like I am forgetting something. Well, the added fat didn't hurt anything and I finally got a downward tick, just gotta keep an eye on those calories. I really want to eat way too low, but I've been so lethargic that I need to find a good middle ground. I can only imagine how I would feel if I were still exercising each day.

04/21: 242.8
04/22: 241.8
04/23: 241.2
04/24: 241.2
04/25: 240.6

[LauraRVA42011]

Gemini6, I did the same thing last week when my Fitbit denied me over 2000 steps!! I just took it off and banged it on my arm every few minutes. I still didn't make up all the missed steps. I discovered that 'flaw' when I wore it and my Garmin together and they were off by 300 steps. I just started whipping it back and forth until it caught up to my Garmin's count. Still annoying that you have to do that.

OpheliaPhoenix I too did the walking thing when on the phone. I had a call from my health coach and a few seconds into the call I just started wandering around my house while we talked. It helped me get to my 10K mark, which was nice.

[opheliaphoenix]

DayDreamer26: The one I have has a specific function tracker for the treadmill (among other exercises!), but I have yet to really give it a good try on one. I think I did it once, but I don't recall what happened -- as long as you don't have your hands up on the bar in front of you, though, it should would work perfectly fine for tracking your steps! Next time that I am at the gym, I will test it out for you...lol.


Vladadog: Great job on your walking!


LauraRVA42011: Good luck on your return to running! I am just now starting to dabble in it and am wanting to include it more often. It's just a slow jog in intervals, but it will be something to start with, haha. Let me know how it goes for you! Also, I totally get the shopping cart frustration! I usually end up trying to walk around pushing it with one arm as much as I can and then grabbing it with both hands if I have to turn or if it gets too heavy to properly maneuver with one hand. I wish there was a better way to keep it accurate during those trips...lol.


Gemini6: Yay, go us indeed! Getting in those steps while keeping in touch with our mamas at the same time! Hope your stomach feels better soon!

________________________________


Weigh-in was 230.6 today. Did a 6 mile walk last night and tried a little interval jogging towards the end...still not able to do it for very long bursts, but I had a lot more stamina for it than I thought I would have already, so I think I might start incorporating little bits here and there more often to see if I can build up to a decent jog.


Week Four
22: 232.8
23: 232.0
24: 231.0
25: 230.6
26:
27:
28:
----------------------------
End of Week Three: 232.8
Total Loss for Week Four:

[DayDreamer26]

Vladadog: Halfway to Rivendale! That's awesome!!!

LauraRVA42011: I see... That's very helpful thank you! I usually do keep my hands on the rails though, mostly because sometimes I get dizzy when I look away from the screen or something so it's for balance mainly. I was toying with the idea, but I don't think I am so keen on one. Glad you are getting back to running!

Gemini6: I feel like I would try to depend on it too much and then get incredibly annoyed if it turned out not to be reliable. The few times I have been able to stick with a healthy diet/life style, I have had to almost obsess myself with it. Mainly to keep myself 'excited' and not 'forget' or give up. I try to log everything I eat and do, I know nothing is 100% accurate but it makes me feel better if I think it is.

opheliaphoenix: Aww Thanks! You are so sweet! I do however keep my hands in the bar mostly since every time I turn or look away form the screen I lose my sense of balance for a second and that throws me off. Grats on the walk and the drop!!

---

Dinner last night was the leftovers from the chicken platter. It was 403 cals for lunch and dinner, since I tried my best to split everything in half and only ate 1/3 of the dressing between both meals. I did manage to dance in my living room for 30 mins? I think, it wasn't 30 mins straight though, there were pauses in between. xD I did get my heart pumping and was sweating, so it's something right?

Today weighed in at 223.1 lbs [-1.3]! I was surprised with those numbers. Hopefully I'll be able to control myself tomorrow. I wanted to go to an italian restaurant, but I don't think that would be very wise. Then, on friday we have a thing at a friend's house, and I am unsure how I'll handle that yet. I was thinking about messaging the host and letting htem know I'd be taking a lunch box for myself (Is that rude? It's not dinner, I think they are just having Pizza).

April is almost over! The year is flying by... It's both exciting and terrifying at the same time. I have this event I want to attend, on the last week of October... and I am hoping to at least be on the 'overwight' BMI range... We shall see I suppose.

[curvynotlumpy]

I hope everyone had a good day. No time for personals tonight as I've been at my desk since 6:30 this morning. It's been a long day. I've written and/or responded to 33 emails, had two meetings, negotiated a payroll issue that took several hours of my day and still isn't resolved completely, and wrote a position description for an upcoming hire.

Wishing everyone a wonderful evening.

[LauraRVA42011]

Happy Hump Day!!

Hope everyone is doing well! I'm pleased with being out of my plateau finally and am seeing consistent loss.

Week Four
22: 257.3
23: 256.9
24: 256.6
25: 255.5
26: 254.6
27: 254.1
28: 253.9
29:
30:
Total loss week four:
Overall loss: 5.4

[opheliaphoenix]

DayDreamer26: Dancing is a great workout, so I definitely think your little living room dance party counts...lol. Hope you have a great anniversary today, by the way!


curvynotlumpy: Hope you were able to get some down time to recuperate from your busy day!


LauraRVA42011: Yay, I am happy for you! You are absolutely killing it this week.


________________________________


Weigh-in was 229.8 today. Our son had baseball practice again last night, but it was over near the soccer fields again, so I had that awesome walking path around the area at my disposal. I ended up being able to get in just over 5.25 miles before practice ended, so I was happy about that! They're having practice there again tonight before their game tomorrow, so I'm going to try getting another long walk in while I am there, since I won't be able to do my walk tomorrow night.


Week Four
22: 232.8
23: 232.0
24: 231.0
25: 230.6
26: 229.8
27:
28:
----------------------------
End of Week Three: 232.8
Total Loss for Week Four:

[howdytx]

Hello all! Had another attack in the middle of the night on Thurs-clammy, lower chest pain, nausea, heart racing (convinced myself I might be having a heart attack). Doctor says it is most likely gallstones from rapid weight loss Luckily Thurs was the last time I felt sick so I'm hoping I passed the stone or whatever it's called for gallstones. In fact, other than those two 30min "attacks" I feel AMAZING now that the gastric balloon nausea is gone!

Drove to Louisiana to meet up with my parents (who have never been before) for the crazy spectacle that is the Angola Prison Rodeo. Ended up buying 5 paintings (made by the convicts) and enjoyed the rodeo part (my fav event is still the poker event where 4 prisoners sit at a poker table then an angry bull is let out and whoever remains sitting the longest wins). Somehow managed not to eat horribly even though they had typical carnival food---fried everything drenched in sauce. Made it through 2 days of work this week w/o dying so that's always a win.

Weigh-in today was good--finally down into the 170s! AND wearing a smaller pants size! Hope to catch up with everyone tomorrow when I'm not running around like a crazy person trying to do errands.

[DayDreamer26]

opheliaphoenix: Thanks

223.8 [+0.7] today. I am starting to wonder if I saw the scale wrong yesterday, because I really didn't do anything that merit a gain. If anything, I think I ate 250 calories less than what I usually do. I Stole 2 fries from my husband but I REALLY doubt that would have done it.

Anyway hopefully the gain will be gone tomorrow.

[curvynotlumpy]

and good evening!

I hope everyone had a great day! Enjoyed the Fitbit discussion and various experiences. I'll venture into the fray only to say that I've had similar experiences. On the Fitbit note, it's only 5:45 and I'm well over 17,000 steps for the day!

DayDreamer26: Those bumps in weight are a challenge but so many things can impact weight on a day to day basis. You're doing great! Plateaus and small gains are to be expected. Weight loss is truly a marathon and not a sprint!

howdytx: The Angola Prison Rodeo sounds like quite an event! Did your parents enjoy it? Congrats on the great weight in and smaller pant size! That is something to celebrate.

opheliaphoenix: getting those walks in. You're really using your time wisely and it sounds like you're enjoying yourself.

[Gemini6]

Morning everyone!

Casey – Fantastic bunch of exercising, as usual! I remember when I was playing around all over the 40’s and you entered that thread and skated right by me into the next decade. Now, you are on to yet another decade (while I still struggle to get out of the 40’s) Awesome job!!! As a fellow IFer, will there always be hard days or does your stomach finally lose its voice in telling you that you are missing normally scheduled meals?

DayDreamer – Wooohooo on the new losses! Hang in on the new uptick (I’m telling you and me – dumb scale ). I’m sure it is just a quick blip of water as us women have the craziest bodies. Look at your week to week and you are doing so so great!

Curvy – I hope your day is much less busy! Wonderful job on the 17K+ steps. Wow!

Laura – Look at that great downward trend! WTG! Gotta love it when the scale behaves.

HowdyTX – OH MY on the health issues, but so glad you are feeling well again! Yay for smaller pants!

I’m still right on plan. Better than on plan actually, but the scale is a fickle beast. I somehow managed to gain a pound from eating around 1200 calories in a 4 hour window. Ysd I just did one long meal of around 800 calories (mostly crispy green bean parm before 5pm - I can't believe I ate a pound of green beans and I don't even like green beans) but I lost the pound back. Onward. I decided to put my watch back on after a week without it. It is like seeing an old friend again. My calf is feeling slightly better even though I had to do more walking yesterday at longer distances. I felt cheated that those steps weren’t being logged so I think I’m going to try to at least get my 250 in each hour today then re-evaluate. I’m determined to go hiking next weekend. Funny that even injured, I still walk faster than some people...I had to keep stopping myself from leaving them in the dust. So weird. Hah!

04/21: 242.8
04/22: 241.8
04/23: 241.2
04/24: 241.2
04/25: 240.6
04/26: 241.6
04/27: 240.6

[DayDreamer26]

curvynotlumpy: You are right, but sometimes you are able to tell 'what happened' to explain those bumps. I just found it SO odd, since it was a pretty good day. Oh well, it's gone now!

Gemini6: Congrats on getting on your feet!! I am a bit jelly of your motivation to walk ! You are doing great!

---

Today, 222.4 lbs. My mood is **** though. Sigh... I need to snap out of this sulking. I can't stand it anymore, but IDK how. It's going to take extra effort to stay on track today, since it's moods like this that usually make me go on a binge. Gahh! Sorry for whining so much. Need to focus on the positive, only 2.4 lbs left until a new decade!

I am going to a friend's house tomorrow, I think they are having pizza for dinner. I need to figure out my lunch box (lol) so I can make sure I don't eat bad things/can count properly. I'll have to make sure I take plenty of snacky things though, cause we'll be there for a while and I'll probably have cravings watching everyone eat nummy things.

04/22: 226.0 [-1.1]
04/23: 224.6 [-1.4]
04/24: 224.4 [-0.2]
04/25: 223.1 [-1.3]
04/26: 223.8 [+0.7]
04/27: 222.4 [-1.4]
04/28:

Enough rambling... Hope you all have a great day! ^_^

[opheliaphoenix]

howdytx: I've had something very similar happen earlier this month, on about 3 different days. Hasn't happened in awhile though, and when I called the doctor about it, they said to just come into the ER if it happened again instead of making an appointment proactively to check it out...lol. I wonder if it could be something similar, or maybe mine was just extremely painful indigestion...ha. But, I was really worried there for a second that there was some cardiac event, so I get it. Things like that really get your attention. I'm glad you are feeling better now though and know what to look out for -- and congrats on hitting your 170s!!


DayDreamer26: Congrats on another great loss! Sorry you're still feeling pretty blah, though.


curvynotlumpy: Wow! That is a great step count, especially by that time...awesome job!


Gemini6: Thank you! I am still rubberbanding between decades right now, though...the 230s are my stickiest decade, like what your 240s are doing to you right now. Hopefully we'll both be able to pass through them once and for all tomorrow! As for the IF, it has gotten a little easier, but I still get that gnawing feeling of "is it time to eat yet???" before the first meal on most days, lol. Hopefully that will lessen for us both, as well.


________________________________


Weigh-in was back up to 230.6 again today...I think the 230s are making their last stand to hold on to me, lol. Hoping I can leave them in the dust for GOOD come tomorrow's weigh-in! I didn't drink enough water yesterday, so I will be more mindful of that today.


Week Four
22: 232.8
23: 232.0
24: 231.0
25: 230.6
26: 229.8
27: 230.6
28:
----------------------------
End of Week Three: 232.8
Total Loss for Week Four:

[Gemini6]

Morning!

Casey - I hope your straddling decades moves swiftly.

DayDreamer - You are rocking this weight loss thing! You should be so proud of yourself. Good for you planning ways to not sabotage and still getting with the friends.
I hope you feel better soon!