Roaring in like lions, we're ready for our March Weight Loss Challenge.
Join the March Weight Loss Challenge to set your goal, track it, and meet it -- with the help of a supportive and encouraging group. All the goals will be compiled into a list. As each goal is met during the month, it gets turned RED in celebration.
For your exercise goals, don't miss the March Exercise Challenge.
I'm in! After a rough February I'm feeling determined to get back on track with not only life but my health. I started taking anxiety medication early February and I had a hard time adjusting to it, it made me feel sick. Combined with several colds that have been going around, plus my period, I felt like I spent the entirety of February feeling ill. Now things are finally leveling out so I want to be good about staying accountable. Even though the forums aren't as active, it truly does help to have a space to talk about my progress.
I'm hoping to lose 3 lbs this month.
The plan is to exercise 3x a week (cardio), start intermittent fasting again (no food after 7pm and ideally start eating past 11am), drink lots and lots of water (at least 2 water bottle's worth) and stay accountable! I haven't weighed myself since early February so I'm a little nervous to step on the scale tomorrow. I seem to remember weighing in at 195 a week or so ago so I've reset my tickers. Hoping I can shed that weight asap
Good luck everyone!
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Last edited by Riestrella; 02-29-2020 at 12:24 PM.
Thanks for starting up March's thread gardenerjoy. I'm back and I'm in. March 18th will be my 2 year mark since I started losing and I've really been struggling lately. I'm trying to get it under control now before I'm up more.
The lowest I saw was back around Halloween, when I got to JUST shy of 100 pounds down, 167.6 was the best I saw. The last week, I've been seeing numbers in the 182 range. Yesterday was 182.2. So about 15 pounds up from my lowest. I'd like to blame it on something in particular, because I could fix something in particular. The truth is that winter is just hard for me. Short days and bad weather make it hard to go for walks, and the healthy foods I like best are not in season. So I struggle in the winter. On top of that, I've been lax and snacking too much late in the evening. I definitely could have done better. But I can't fix the past, only the present. So back on track I go.
I got out and went for a walk every day this week and I've been eating much better. I'd like to continue that momentum and get back to losing instead of gaining. Part of doing that for me is being accountable and posting every day.
SW: 182.4
March GW: 177.4
Week One
01: 182.4
02: 183.2
03: 184.4
04: NWI
05: 183.6
06: NWI
07:
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Total Loss for Week One:
Week Two
08:
09: 184.6
10:
11: 183.8
12: 184.4
13: 184.8
14:
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Total Loss for Week Two:
Week Three
15:
16:184.0
17: 183.8
18: 183.6
19: 183.6
20: 183.4
21:
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Total Loss for Week Three:
Week Four
22: 182.6
23: 181.8
24: 181.6
25: 182.0
26: 181.0
27: 181.8
28: 181.8
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Total Loss for Week Four:
Bonus Days
29: 182.2
30: 181.2
31: 181.8
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Total Loss for Bonus Days:
Total loss for Entire Month: 0.6
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Week 3
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Week 4
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Week 5
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Starting Weight: 194.6 lbs
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194.6 lbs is my starting weight. It might not be a truly accurate representation of my weight, but it'll do for the sake of the challenge . I'm happy that it's under 195 lbs, albeit only a little. I've booked my dance classes for the month, hoping to go every Monday and Thursday throughout the month and then I'll have 1 class on my pass to use. I might try and go to a class that's a Tai Chi/Dance style stretch class. No idea how it'll be but I'm curious! I'm going to do my best to focus on IF too, but it's been so long since I've concentrated on it I might genuinely forget about it I'll do my best!
In life, things are good. Yesterday I went to a store, my husband and I tried a sample of goats milk lotion and it smelled so freaking good. However it was a little expensive, but I just couldn't stop smelling my hands! So today I went back to the store to buy it I couldn't help myself! Have you guys ever done something like that?!
Happy Sunday everyone!
Lacerta - So great to see you back! Seems like we both took a little tumble recently. Sorry to hear you've gained some weight back, but try your best to forgive yourself and learn from the experience. What can you do differently next time to combat the winter blues? You've already identified a lot of things that will have contributed to the gain, which is great! You can do it
Last edited by Riestrella; 03-01-2020 at 06:41 PM.
So, I’m on Optifast, a diet of 4 meal replacement shakes per day, as well as unlimited green vegetables. I’m on week 5. I started well, but then from week 2 to week 3 1/2 I went totally off plan. I was eating out with family, and eating extra whenever I got hungry. I have now recommitted to staying on plan and have been going well for a week and a half now, with help from new weight loss medication I just started (Ozempic, off label) which makes me less hungry.
My goal is to lose 10 pounds this month by staying totally on plan with the optifast. I also have gotten the go-ahead from my medical weight loss program to exercise on optifast, I just have to add a snack to my day if it’s over 45 mins. My goal is to exercise 6 days per week, half of the days weight training and half cardio. I also have been going for a walk of between 30 mins to 1 1/2 hours each afternoon.
Welcome, everyone! It's great to see regulars and newbies!
As leopardspots helpfully pointed out last month, I'm within striking distance of Onederland -- it had been a while since I converted from kgs to lbs. So, that's my goal.
February was a ROUGH month. ROUGH. I started the month with food poisoning, followed by cold/flu symptoms. Hubby believed it was stomach flu all along, but I really didn't feel miserable beyond the vomit/runs {sorry, tmi!}, so here we are, calling it food poisoning. Anyway, as I finally started to feel normal, I got hit with another cold virus, this time with sore throat and the works! As I recovered from that, YUP...you guessed it, a third virus! I could tell they were all different, because I could feel my body recover, only for it to feel like $%^& again. By president's day, I lost my voice, so I went into urgent care. Doc said everything was viral, so I'd have to ride the course. Twelve days later, I finally caved and decided to see my PCP. Granted, I was about 60% recovered by then, but my goodness was it riding out super slowly. My PCP decided to just give me a 5-day round of antibiotics. I can't say I'm 100% yet, since I have the annoying cough...but it was a relief that he checked my airways to rule out pneumonia.
...as a side note, he said that my weight was good for my height, which was a very flattering thing to hear! However, I know that my month and a half away from you lovely "chicks" means I unfortunately have not been making the best choices.
I will be starting this month's challenge at 154.8. Granted, this weekend was VERY indulgent. Buuut, let's be real, if I saw the numbers after a crappy weekend, I've gotta be honest with myself! My March goal is to consistently see numbers below 150. I have a short trip this Spring Break, so I'll have to really work on the good choices.
EDIT: Wow are my tickers off. I'll get to them after work. {My goal is to check in at least once daily!}
Last edited by Atarimae; 03-02-2020 at 11:51 AM.
Reason: LOL...outdated.
Week 1
02: 194.6 lbs
03:
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Average Weight for Week 1: 194.6 lbs
Total Loss for Week 1: 0 lbs
Week 2
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Total Loss for Week 2:
Week 3
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Total Loss for Week 3:
Week 4
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Total Loss for Week 4:
Week 5
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Average Weight for Week 5:
Total Loss for Week 5:
Starting Weight: 194.6 lbs
Week 1
02: 194.6 lbs
03:
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Average Weight for Week 1: 194.6 lbs
Total Loss for Week 1: 0 lbs
No change in my weight today, but that's probably because of the giant burger I had last night It was to celebrate my friend finishing a marathon, which he was running while I was in bed that morning I also had it pretty late too, around 7:30pm, and I couldn't resist having a sweet treat for dessert. Not off to the best start! One of my friends works with kids so I tend to get sick the day after meeting her. I know that sounds bizarre but it's happened so often that I can't help but surmise that it has to be that! I wanted to go to a dance class this morning, but I was feeling under the weather so I cancelled it. Luckily for me though, the exact same class is happening tomorrow, it's a pop up class so it's not normally on a Tuesday - it felt like a sign to take a rest day and get back to full health.
I'm 40% through the first draft of my book, I'm pretty stoked about that! I've also felt like I'm getting the hang of writing regularly. For me the key has been to not say "write for X amount of hours" but rather "write this much of a chapter today at LEAST." It's a good feeling!
Atarimae - Duuude, sounds like we had pretty similar February's! I was sick constantly too, though thankfully not quite as bad as food poisoning. I've only had it once but it scarred me! Let's kick some butt this month.
Rie ~ Oh no! Hope you're recovering. HAHA. I'm probably that friend who works with kids and gets others sick. I'm still not used to these real littles (kindergarten is waaay too little for me), and they still fail to cover their mouths when coughing half the time. Hope you're able to enjoy your dance class today!
~~~
SW: 154.8
03/02: 154.8
03/03: 152.3
Well, can't say I'm surprised with the drop. I ate...super "well" this weekend; it was definitely very all-in. I'm fairly certain a lot of this was excess water that was retained due to an insane amount of sodium. My mentality is starting to shift though, and I'm not quite sure where I want this lifestyle change to go. I'm still finding low carb to be the best route for me when it comes to weight loss, but I'm noticing that I'm enjoying my high fat foods a lot less. I guess everything's tasting so...rich? That I find myself reaching for acidic foods more frequently. Also, hubby and I had a discussion last night in which resulted in him thinking I'm iron deficient. I suffer from heavy shark weeks (also which unfortunately is'a few days away!!) AND I haven't been eating the most iron rich foods...so...I guess I'll have to look into changing that. Time to do more research after work!
Week 1
02: 194.6 lbs
03: No Weigh In
04: 193.8 lbs
05:
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Average Weight for Week 1: 194.2 lbs
Total Loss for Week 1:
Week 2
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Total Loss for Week 2:
Week 3
16:
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Total Loss for Week 3:
Week 4
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Average Weight for Week 4:
Total Loss for Week 4:
Week 5
30:
31:
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Average Weight for Week 5:
Total Loss for Week 5:
Starting Weight: 194.6 lbs
Week 1
02: 194.6 lbs
03: No Weigh In
04: 193.8 lbs
05:
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07:
08:
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Average Weight for Week 1: 194.2 lbs
Total Loss for Week 1:
Yesterday I woke up feeling ill, AGAIN! Jeez I'm so done with this weird weather making me sick all the time. I didn't go to dance class like I wanted and I also didn't manage to weigh in, but today I'm 193.8 lbs. A nice small drop but I'll take it. I did end up eating after 7pm, a couple of handfuls of Doritos and a pickle. At least this time I was actually conscious of the mistakes I was making rather than just eating for the sake of eating and not feeling accountable for it. I found it difficult to sleep last night because I tweaked my back last weekend and it's still been hurting a little, I should really do some yoga or roll out with the foam roller.
So I have exciting news that will hopefully inspire me to take action this year with my weight loss - I'm having a wedding ceremony in November! It's going to be just the two of us, I've already booked the cabin in the mountains, we're going to exchange vows and rings then I'm going to book a photographer to take a few nice pictures of us. I want to shed some pounds for it, so I need to take this seriously! I need to eat better, exercise more and stay consistent. I've got a dress in mind that I'm going to order from Etsy, they do custom measurements and I would need to order it early August. I figure if I do manage on losing a bit more weight between the time they make the dress and the time of the wedding I can try and get it altered. It's not a traditional wedding dress, here's the link if you wanna peak, so I imagine it won't take too long to alter if I need to.
I'm so excited! Ideally I'd love to be near my goal weight for my wedding, and I even considered postponing the wedding because of it, but the more I thought about it the more I realized that it's not how I look that's important, it's our relationship. If I manage to lose 4 lbs a month I'd be in the 160's, which sure isn't my lowest weight, but I'm sure I'll feel SO much better compared to how I feel now in the 190's. Anyway I'm rambling! Thanks for reading if you made it this far
Atari - Ugggh kindergarten kids are gross haha. I worked as a preschool teacher for a few years and I have a distinct memory of a kid turning to face me and full on sneezing in my face. As we get older our tastes definitely change. I used to love sugar, I could eat all the candy and feel nothing. Now I have a few pieces and I'm done. Hmm, maybe you are iron deficient? A blood test is the only way to truly find out, but maybe you could take a vitamin pill that has iron it and see if that helps with your cravings?
gardenerjoy - Exactly! Count every loss no matter how big or small as a victory!
Last edited by Riestrella; 03-04-2020 at 11:44 AM.
These extra few minutes before work need to become routine again. I remember how diligent I was about checking in daily and I just got lazy and let it COMPLETELY slip! Yikes. Hooray for a short day with the kiddos; Another student coughed in my face again last night. Granted, it was due to crying rather than illness, but you never know! Never thought I'd have the attitude of counting down the days until I move into a new school year, since it makes me feel like a horrible, thoughtless teacher. But honestly, that's my current mood. I'll be going walking with my mom this afternoon...baby steps!
Rie ~ That is so exciting, congratulations! That dress is beautiful, and that was totally my motivations for kicking things into gear...last Feb/March! I do NOT know how you managed preschool for a few years. My goodness, kids at these age are a handful. They're totally nature's contraceptive haha! Oh no, I hope you feel better! My last day of antibiotics was the other day...I'm nervous my body will stop healing too.
Sooo, not surprised...this morning is "that time" of the month. I have been tracking, so I knew to expect it. Went walking with my mom as planned, and we discussed the iron thing. She said her blood tests came out completely normal, despite her having some of those same "online symptoms" that I have, but also suggested I follow up with my doc if I'm concerned. Honestly not alarmed at this time, so I'll probably wait until June to discuss w/ my gyno.
March Weight Loss Challenge
. I'm happy that it's under 195 lbs, albeit only a little. I've booked my dance classes for the month, hoping to go every Monday and Thursday throughout the month and then I'll have 1 class on my pass to use. I might try and go to a class that's a Tai Chi/Dance style stretch class. No idea how it'll be but I'm curious! I'm going to do my best to focus on IF too, but it's been so long since I've concentrated on it I might genuinely forget about it 
I'll do my best!
It was to celebrate my friend finishing a marathon, which he was running while I was in bed that morning 
I'm still not used to these real littles (kindergarten is waaay too little for me), and they still fail to cover their mouths when coughing half the time. Hope you're able to enjoy your dance class today!
I'm fairly certain a lot of this was excess water that was retained due to an insane amount of sodium. My mentality is starting to shift though, and I'm not quite sure where I want this lifestyle change to go. I'm still finding low carb to be the best route for me when it comes to weight loss, but I'm noticing that I'm enjoying my high fat foods a lot less. I guess everything's tasting so...rich? That I find myself reaching for acidic foods more frequently. Also, hubby and I had a discussion last night in which resulted in him thinking I'm iron deficient. I suffer from heavy shark weeks (also which unfortunately is'a few days away!!) AND I haven't been eating the most iron rich foods...so...I guess I'll have to look into changing that. Time to do more research after work!
That dress is beautiful, and that was totally my motivations for kicking things into gear...last Feb/March! 