Good luck HazelH. Congratualtions on your planning. Keep warm in that snow!
Weekend boater Thanks for letting us know that we are starting today. I was eating all the leftover chocolates, crackers, and Christmas pudding and drinking wine on new Year's Eve and new Year's day and my weight went up this morning.
'Luckily' I seem to be ill today, I don't want to be ill but I have no appetite at all, so had soups and teas. No tempting foods left in the house except a packet of chocolate biscuits and I am fine not eating them. Am hoping to develop a way of living with them in the kitchen and only eating one a day.
Good luck to everyone whatever the weather.

Hi everyone!

I would love to join this challenge as well! My goal by spring is to lose 20 lbs (though I won't complain if it is more ;) ) I am going on my first cruise this summer and would LOVE to be below 200 lbs for the trip! In 2018, I am getting married and would be thrilled if I made it to my ultimate goal of 147 (200 lbs lost total :D )

This seems like the perfect challenge to kick start the weight loss! Good luck everyone!

P.S. What are some work outs you all are doing? I am heading back to the gym this week and want to change up my routine. Does anyone have any suggestions to get the weight loss going again?

anm017 - WOW over 100 down and still going. Way to go YOU !!!! I started last May at 202. I am 5'2", so close to where you are now. Maryland isn't the best weather in the winter, so the gym is probably your best bet. A friend of mine started weights last spring and I started a lot of outdoor bike riding. We both generally cut carbs, but she more so. We both also cut calories. We have had similar results -- so the story is - do what you enjoy and think you will stick with.

That said - when I started riding - at 200 pounds - i literally cried mid-way up the hill. Now, 50 pounds later, I kind-a-sort-a go up without much whining. I LOVE being outside and feeling like a kid again going down the hills I work so hard to climb. Some like riding, some don't. But, if you are looking for something to try this spring - give it a shot!

Anm: I love doing combat and ujam classes at my gym. Combat is a mixed marital class that definitely gets my heart rate way up. If these classes aren't available, I usually do stairs or run (depending on how hard I want to exert myself that day). I've slowly been trying to add more weight training into my regime because I love that tone shoulder/arm look! The weather has been super nice and chilly here in so-cal so I have been doing a ton of hiking as well. I think if you're new to the gym or looking for more activities to do, I would recommend a trainer. They offer a free training session at my gym when I signed up so I took advantage of it to familiarize myself with some of the equipments. It was very helpful! I also have a stationary bike at home which I use as a last resort (as in while I'm cramming for finals and can't afford to leave the house :D).

Good afternoon ladies! :) anm017 :welcome2: and welcome to all of you who have joined in. I hate to miss anyone.

It's a new day for us all and hope you all had a good night and have a good and successful day. If it wasn't such a good night, tis' a new day. Yesterday went well, it was breakfast night for last night as planned. Tonight is beef night and I am making mini meatloaf along with salad. I drank plenty of water last night.

I wrote in my daily planner, I have a goal to write in my journal every night and I record what I consume, any exercise, and other events of the day. I am a bit tired as I got up a few times last night and had to give myself a push to exercise but felt so good once I started!

Hazel wow! That was so smart that you stocked up on healthy ingredients before the storm! WTG! :carrot: We have been pretty lucky here so far in not having any major storms (a few 6" ones). THe year before last we hit a record here (near NH border) and were homebound most of the winter. lol @ UPS delivering the snowshoes! :) Hope your having a great today, glad you have electricity.

Muse I am sorry to hear that your not feeling well and I hope you feel better today. Wishing you a speedy recovery. Not having tempting foods in the house is helping me tremendously! It made it so incredibly easier when I started not having the stuff around. I had bread and starch food craving in the beginning (which is always hardest for me) and all I can say is, I am very thankful none were in the house! lol feel better.

anm17 Congratulations on your loss and successes! :cheer2::cheer2: You have some great things coming up! :) A cruise and a marriage! how nice, congrats on your engagement as well.

I was laid up for many months (tendonitis, then knee injury). I was on crutches a few months in summer, long story! I am ok now but to make a long story short, I just started walking and being more active in my day to day activities (as much as my feet would tolerate). Being active in and of itself helped me a lot. As Nightowl said, I also feel it needs to be an activity that we enjoy. I always loved walking (and it's a safe way to start) and swimming. It depends on your fitness level too. A great gal recommended the Leslie Samsone walking vid to me! I tried it anm and I really enjoyed it! It was the 3mile walk vid and it is in segments so you can just do 1 mile or more. I found it to be a very good warm up and total body movement, utilizing the upper bod the whole time. I unfortunately had to stop (when my ankle swelled up) but plan to try that one again. It was on Comcast for free (could not find it today) but they have the vid on amazon too, I want to get it! I did the 2 mile Comcast one a bit earlier but different trainer.


Nightowl Congratulations to you as well on all that you have done! :cheer2::cheer2: That's inspirational :bike2:

chub that's cool! :carrot: Hope your day is going well and same goes out to all.

Good Evening from Scotland :D

Today I walked 11,034 steps :D Its the first time I have hit 10,000 steps since xmas and it feels great!

I was doing some on the spot running to feel a nice burn in my calves and I think I might need to get the foam roller out :lol: wow they hurt. But onto the next! I will be aiming for 8,000 or more steps every day and I will be doing some thigh busting moves to add to my daily work out.

Hi Scotsgal :) WTG on those steps! :cheer2:

Had my dinner, it was yummy, and going to head over to do some sofa surfing shortly and watch "Good Behavior" at 9. Wishing everyone a good night and that we all wake up to a good day. Catch you in the morning

Thanks for the recommendations! Nightowlrn, I do have a bike, though I have barely used it. When you first started riding, how far did you go and what type of terrain did you find the best in the beginning?

Chub What is a ujam class? I've never heard of it before. I have been very interested in starting kickboxing, though I have been hesitant because I am sometimes afraid of trying new things, especially if it was a group class I have been trying to start a more weight-training based exercise routine for myself as well, I've heard the results from weight training are better than cardio. I will have to check with my gym to see if they offer a free session with a person trainer! I go to the gym, but I often feel I could be better maximizing my workout.

Weekend Boater I'm sorry to hear about your knee injury! I hope you are doing better now and have found some fun activities to pass the time. Thanks for the video recommendation, I will have to check it out sometime! Especially since the weather here has been iffy the past few days and makes me not want to leave the house! It's always nice to have options :)

Anm - RE my bike. I live in an area with a mixture of some smallish inclines and a few big hills. It is actually a really good HITT workout. Ride easy, huff and puff, coast, repeat. I just looked at my MapMyRide app. LOL. The first time I rode last year was May 21, 2016. It took me 1.08 hours to go 8.12 miles. I remember that ride well. I cursed at my poor husband for picking the route to the park that I was pretty sure took us the hardest way. HA. I swear it was up hill both ways! I cried, and walked and pushed my bike a lot of it. Now, about 650 miles later, that same route is my "warm up" and takes me 22 minutes if I hit the traffic lights right. My favorite weekends include a 20-25 mile ride. Not everyone likes biking - but I am addicted and the results don't lie! For me, if the road is dry and the temp is at least 45, I am riding! The time just flys bye.

Lucky for us, we have safe neighborhood roads that lead to a nice trail. Many of our roads have bike lanes, too. But, drivers are crazy and i worry I will get hit.

Challenge Goal: 27.76lbs

So far: 4.2lbs 15% of the way there!!

Good luck, everyone! :carrot:

Today I weighed in at 281.1 woohoo, so that means that I am much closer to getting my xmas weight off.

Hope everyone is well :D

Good morning ladies :) Onto our new day! Nice to wake up to a beautiful sunny day, well high 40's is very good for us this time of year.

anm017 Thanks! :) I am much better now yes. I will be working to strengthen my muscles and becareful not to injure myself. I still go up the stairs with one leg and favor the other leg, I am practicing going up with both but felt a little knee pain, clearly shows me I need to get right back to the exercises the physical therapist had me doing to strengthen my quads, etc. before I take anything on too much but I will be moving forward! :)

I used to weight train in the past (and just started again, upper bod). My muscles responded quickly and I gained so much strength, sculpted my bod. I liked them all but the lat pulldowns were my favorite! The back is the largest muscle in the body and thus burns a lot of fat! I started again but doing it slowlyyy.

I totally know what you mean about not wanting to leave the house in yucky weather! ditto! lol :)

Nightowl hi and I hope your having a wonderful time out riding, very nice story.

Rosinate That is awesome! Congratulations :cheer2: Thanks for sharing and wishing you another good and successful day! : )

Scotsgal WTG! :) Nice work! Your so close to a new decade too! :cheer2:

How is everyone else doing? I hope things are going well in general ladies and wishing you all a good and successful day.

GOAL for the day: break out the new exercise mat and DO those exercises (new and past ones). I have been afraid to get down on my knee but right now I think it's more of a psychological fear and I have to at least try! Putting an ottoman next to it to help just in case! lol :) I will report back later, I want to hold myself accountable for this.

I have a lot of other things to do but putting precedence on this today.

Hi Ophelia :) congrats on your OP day and on going down! :cheer2: I signed up for more threads too this month! No apology necessary, things can get quite busy and time can be a factor. Water helps me a lot too, particularly at night! Getting adjusted to not eating late at night was hardest for me at first but with water and keeping occupied, I soon found it to get easier. I was eating a bit later dinners too so as not to get hungry again after and now am able to go earlier....whatever works! Congrats again and thanks for sharing :)

A big :cheer2: to everyone! For just being here and for keeping at it and fighting those struggles sometimes which are part of the journey...at least for me.

I came back to check in and report as I said I would. I tackled the exercise mat! lol :) I really procrastinated on finally doing it! It was not bad at all and I managed it fine except for the end when I had to get down on all fours and do the butt and hamstring exercises. One side was fine but my right knee hurt so I didn't push it and finished off that side by holding onto a chair in the kitchen.

Aside from that, all is well ladies. Happy to be done with most of my stuff. Grilled chicken and spinach on menu for tonight's dinner.

Wow, you ladies are such an inspiration!

I've been doing CrossFit Boot Camp for 6 months and love it. The instructors are great and the classes are small and motivating. I'm not good at working out on my own and love the different workouts and weights that are a part of CrossFit. I started a Paleo/Zone meal plan about 5 months ago, but it requires lots of planning and weekly prep work, so that makes it difficult for me to maintain. But every day is a fresh start and I'm committed to making both the food and exercise work.

Keep up the great work, ladies!

GranyPuttPutt That is wonderful! Glad you found a program that really works for you and you love and for doing it the past 6 months :cheer2:, you are an inspiration too! :) Thanks for sharing with us, I love learning from you all and sharing experiences. That sounds like a great workout. So true! Every day is a fresh start! WTG on being committed to making both work, I am working on the same...one day at at a time. I wish you a great fresh start today! All of you :carrot:

We are already nearing the end of our first week to January. Seems to be going fast to me, which is a good thing! lol :) I am always so happy when spring rolls around and everything starts to bloom!

Have a great day everyone.

Good Morning All,

It's my birthday and there's a beautiful snowfall outside! :snowglo:

I've been working on my house instead of hitting the gym, but I've been very good watching my carbs! Hoping to see a whoosh soon.

BW: 175
CW: 173.5

Andi

Hi WebWoman :celebrate::bday2you::celebrate: Happy Birthday! :) Hope you have a beautiful day and evening, much health and happiness to you on your Birthday, and always!

Congrats on the loss and doing well with "watching" the carbs :cheer2:

hi Ophelia and WTG on the program!

Don't let anyone get you down! You keep on going girl! As for the water weight and all, that is where it starts!! I have been to goal before (long time ago) and remember a friend of mine saying that after I lost 10 lbs, "oh it's just water weight" Ha!!!!!! lol I showed them a thing or two! We really learn who our friends are, stay strong and keep up the great work! :)

You all inspire me, maybe I should hit the basement for a treadmill run? lol


I want to ask you all, I stopped white's....I loved pasta but had to stop it (along with milk, omg), my stomach would do tumbles! I know I am lactose intolerant now with the milk and before starting plan had a ***** of enough time with the pasta to not even want it now! Why did pasta start affecting me this way now? I had enough negative reinforcers that I seriously do not want it! What play does gluten have? and why on earth does ice cream not affect me in the same way?

I would bloat up, my eyes...face, and abdomen! Carb sensitive I guess.
THe things I loved, I do not miss now. My bodies reaction was immense to these things. Any enlightenment? I look forward to getting to know you all and learning from each other....weekend boater! or so I dream! :)

Hello Ladies!

I'd like to join you if you don't mind! I joined 3FC around this time last year and I am about six pounds lighter this January. LOL. I haven't been very active on here or outside lately. I seem to be sick a lot lately. Grrrrr.

I actually took and recorded my measurements today. WOW! As I posted on a different thread, it was a definite (and appalling) eye opener, but good to have for measuring progress. There is a tool you can use to calculate your body type (apple, banana, pear....) based on your measurements. I'm a banana who always thought she was an apple. Of course, I was a "pencil" when I was a teenager, so I guess that makes sense. Now I'm like one of those fat pencils kids used to use in kindergarten. There are recommendations based on body types as to more effective diet/exercise....don't know if it amounts to "hope or hype". LOL. Interesting, nonetheless, to learn that I'm still a basket case, just a different type of fruit.....

Happy Birthday Andi! Big fluffy snow here! What a nice present. First fat flakes I've seen since last winter!

My goal is to be at 159 by the first day of spring. 16 pounds. I'm going to eat a balanced diet of whole foods and wear my fitbit daily, and work on a 5k. I lose quickly on a low carb diet, but I always gain it back. Going to switch it up and see what happens.

Good Luck Everyone. :)

Hi Weekend Boater...

Looks like we posted at almost the exact same time...It kicked me out when I hit "post" probably because you were in the process of doing the same thing! I have a friend who says the opposite. She can drink milk to her hearts content, but ice cream tears her up.

Hi LurchMomma We love to have you join us! :welcome2: and yes, I was probably posting at the same time! Were it not for copy and paste, I would be in big trouble! lol

I am sorry to hear that you were sick and hope that you feel better. Hope that we can touch bases along our journeys together! Have a great night and again, wishing you a speedy recovery!

I am heading down to workout! Slowly of course! DH is late and I spend a lot of time alone, what better way to blow off some steam? Going down! Thanks for all being here :hug:

That worked! I am not sure which lovely lady prompted me to do so but every experience is a lesson learned! I believe she had something to the effect of she was tired of putting off exercise! Regardless of the weather or circumstance, she just needed to do it! Something in me clicked, and I thought, "heck yes"! I had been postponing going to my new gym equipment area and finding excuse after excuse! That little bit she shared was so helpful!

I wish for us to all have a good night and I look forward to getting to know you all better. Have a great night ladies and may we all wake up to a new and great day!!

Great job Weekend Boater!!!!!!!! :carrot:

Rusty Thank you so much girl! :) :hug:

Thanks for the kind birthday wishes!

Weekend Boater, exercise is just what I need and I have a treadmill in the basement gathering dust... You have inspired me to use it again!

Hello again April! (LM). Hope you stay healthy and stick to low carb living...that's the only thing that works for me. Can't wait till it's warm enough to get outside and walk again, and I'm sure you're the same way.

I lost another pound this morning and hope I never find it again! :D

Andi

Good morning ladies and Happy Friday! Hope you all have a great start to your weekend.

Ophelia Thanks! :) have a great weekend

WebWoman oh good , I am glad! It's infectious, isn't it. We get each other going which is great! Congrats on the loss! :carrot:

A big hello to all of you! Last night went well. Onto a new day and wishing you all a successful and happy one. Not sure what we are doing this weekend yet but may go out tomorrow...I have been working hard in prep for it! lol My plan is to make wise choices at dinner and not over do it and then have a light meal plan on Sunday, most likely fish for dinner. :dust: for us all over the weekend for whatever each of our plans and goals are and wishing you all a great one!

Hi everyone!

It seems like everyone is doing an excellent job kicking off their 2017!! Congrats to everyone! The start to my year has been pretty good. I have dropped 2.4 lbs so far. A little more would have been nicer for the initial jump back into it, but they are results nonetheless AND I have been actually eating real food and not barely eating anything this time around.

Big shout out to Ophelia and Scotgirl for jump starting their 2017. Way to go ladies!

Hi anm Congratulations on the loss and on your other changes :cheer2: Hope you have a great weekend.

Hi Ladies :wave: It feels good to sit! I am happy because I was tired today but kept pushing myself to accomplish all I wanted (with the exception of posting, which is always a daily goal of mine regardless).

I got all my stuff done, I felt quite tired as I did not sleep well last night. I have been pretty much moving non stop with the exception of sitting here to break and post and generally like to relax after dinner!

Hair is done, kitchen is clean ( I find it easier to be on plan when I am organized) nails and all dolled up and ready to go tomorrow but alas, we are supposed to get a snowstorm! I had to give myself a good push to go grocery shopping but I promised myself that my plans would be in place and fridge cleaned out etc. I was planning on making baked haddock tonight but they already took the fresh stuff so it looks like it is rotisserie chicken for me, which is fine! DH got take out from outback.

THe funny thing is that when I came back I felt rejuvenated and went down to the basement to work out some more! GO figure! I am really beginning to love the gym set up down there! There is plenty of lighting which means a lot to me! I tend to get depressed or down if an area is not well lit or dank and dark.

I have not even brought a radio down yet! I think I am just enjoying the change and I get into a state of focus, if you will! DH came home and was looking for me all over! LOL

On an NSV (non scale victory), I can tell you gals right now that I was worried about some things in as far as my appearance! I tend to get puffy in the face and abdomen, upper bod area! I had no idea at this state and age what would happen but when I saw a reflection of myself I could not believe it! It can go awayyyyyyy! So please don't get down or worried about that, for me at least, staying positive and just keep on truckin' is what is working. Full steam ahead!

I hope I am not driving you guys crazy or too much TMI but I really love to share as well as hear your stories! I hope that we keep it going and get through the weekend and start our new 2nd week on Monday!

:grouphug:

Hi ladies, a quickie post today. We are having a snowstorm! I am enjoying a lazy day today! Just wanted to wish you all a good day.

Happy Belated Birthday, WebWoman. You are all doing so well! I've already been a yo-yo on the scale. :( But, can't give up.... Gotta keep moving forward.

Hello to everybody and Happy Sunday. Hope everyone has a great day.

GrannyPuttPutt I hope your having a nice weekend. Bravo for keeping trying! It can be hard and can take time to be on a program and schedule, it took me a long time before I finally got going again and I just didn't give up and kept trying. What I found was those times I was trying and doing well on and off prior to this current journey really helped me this time around as I had already been in the process of breaking some habits so that really ended up being helpful. Again, congrats on not giving up! WTG! :carrot:

Weigh in for me is every sunday! Here are my last two weigh ins...

01/02: actual 189
01/08: Actual 186

Didnt expect such a big loss but sure was happy to see it on the scale 😊

Bslope congrats! :cheer2::cheer2: I wrote a whole paragraph but seem to have lost my post! Grrrr! Write soon! Let's keep it rolling! :):carrot:

Thanks Weekend Boater! :yoga:

Hi and hugs. We start our new week and day tomorrow so let's get ready and get our supplies in place for our meal plans.

If your having a bad day or week don't despair! We must pick ourselves up and keep on going! Regardless if we make our weight goal loss or not, the important thing is that we keep on trying and no day or week is too late! We jump on board when we can and no day is a bad day to do that!

Hugs and :dust: for us all for our new week! Let's get ready!