curvynotlumpy thank you so very much once again for starting this monthly thread

Wishing everyone great success this month. And for everyone to exercise self care at all times, in all the ways you enjoy most.

My goals this month are to keep moving 5-6 times per week, keep drinking 2+ litres of water per day and to stay within a decent calorie range. I've been experimenting with MyFitnessPal all week and for the first time in a loooooong time, I saw 235(.4) on the scale this morning. I'll believe it when I see it for a few days in a row. I don't exactly know why the scale decided to budge at this time, because as I look at the foods I am logging, I have been eating pretty much the same way as I did for the past couple of months and doing the same types of exercises. Yes I have added walks since the weather has been more clement, but then again I've been housebound and honestly not doing that much for the past 6 weeks compared to when I was at work. I'll take it for now and continue with MyFitnessPal for another week to see if that really is what made the difference (maybe seeing the numbers is having an effect on me, I don't know).

Speaking of work, we learned yesterday that managers and full-time employees are going back to work full-time starting Monday, to start preparing our stores for an eventual reopening, though no date has been given yet. I just hope this won't throw me off my "game", as I now have to quickly readjust everything to go back to my regular routine. I stopped meal prepping while I was stuck at home, now I know what I'll be doing Sunday.

I started the month off on the right foot with a walk and a workout. Now off to prepare a cheesy broccoli soup. Which should go well with the Italian bread that I made this morning, my first time kneading dough! They did say we'd all be bakers by the time this pandemic ended

1: 3.2km walk + 40 minutes lower body strength training

Hi VickieLou !

So this hasn't exactly been the most active day for me, despite the best of intentions and nice weather outside. Instead of going for a walk I went for a drive with my husband and Loki, looking all cute and happy sticking his head out the window. I think I just needed to spend some time with David, listening to music and just chatting while enjoying the scenery. I just now completed the planned workout of the day, but honestly I did not put my best effort in. I was feeling sluggish to begin with and was not loving the format, but for the last section I pushed harder at least. It was a core workout so I was on the floor a lot and Loki kept coming at me with sweet kisses. He hadn't done that in a while, I think he knew that I wasn't feeling it and he made me laugh and smile. I may still go for a walk after supper, I'll see how I feel by then.

Hope everyone has been enjoying a great Saturday!

1: 3.2km walk + 40 minutes lower body strength training
2: 35 minutes core workout

Good morning

VickieLou! Nice to have you check in. Wishing you a great month!

Martine: Honestly, it sounds like you were on the whole weekend! What a productive day! My busy weekends often look like what you describe. I get a bunch of stuff done over the course of the day but it feels so satisfying once you're done. I'm glad you and David had a nice drive and had that time to catch up. I'm seeing (at least I sense that I'm seeing) more cars on the road than in March and most of April. Weather and needing a change in scenery probably account for the increase. I imagine it must seem a tad bit odd getting back into your meal prep routine since you had been "freestyling" for the last week or so. I think anything we can do that helps us stay grounded and feel more normal is necessary and fantastic. How are you feeling about going back into work to prep? I hope all went well today, your first day back. Good to get a Loki update. I imagine he does look a bit shaggy after all this time but he's in fine company with the rest of us .
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I hope everyone had a good weekend and that it was peaceful and uneventful.I did laundry, made a lemon ricotta cake, and had my weekly phone chat with dear friend Vanessa who lives in Portland. I took several long walks this weekend as the weather couldn't have been more lovely. Today definitely feels like a Monday! I'm having a hard time getting motivated. Hopefully, the afternoon will be be better.

Wishing everyone a great day!

Curvy: Hello there! Thank you for continuing to run this thread! Your point about this being a great time for some accountability and reflection really rang true for me- thank you for pointing that out. Your lemon ricotta cake sounds amazing! I have such a weak spot for lemon-flavored treats

Martine: It sounds like you had a productive first day back that was filled with learning experiences and joy seeing your colleagues again. Masks and gloves for an extended period of time are a lot to handle—what a great idea to trial out wearing them ahead of time so you know what to expect! Glad to hear your headache resolved and you were able to get a workout in and spend some quality time with David.

Hello everyone! I’d like to join you all for this lovely month of May It’s been many months since I’ve checked in here faithfully every day and I need to get back in the swing of things. School is over (I’m graduating!!!) and I now have the time to focus on me again. Instead of beating myself up for a very small (relatively speaking) backslide of about 10 lbs., I’m going to see the positive—I haven’t been run this ragged or this stressed out since I was in school full time from 2010-2013, which is when I put on the bulk of my weight and topped out at my highest of 290 lbs. Despite being busy and having a more stressful, hectic life, I managed to maintain the majority of my weight loss so far, so while it’s not quite the progress I had hoped, I will still count it as a win!

That being said, I’ve felt out of control for the past month or so. I’ve used the pandemic and everyone bringing in donated or homemade goodies to work as an excuse to fall out of ketosis. I’m very bloated, breaking out, and my mood is crappy—therefore tomorrow will begin (after coffee of course) with a trip to the grocery store to stock up on some staples, and a nice long walk with the pup. I’m going back to a goal of eating 90% of meals at home or made of home-cooked food.

My goals for this month are to meet my water goal of 4L, get back into and maintain ketosis (tracking only carbs without worrying about calories for the next week or so), and hit my 14K step goal at least 4 days per week. I’d also like to start doing more at-home strength training and yoga as my usual studio is streaming their classes via Zoom, but for that I’m going to leave that open and not put the pressure on myself of making it an official goal at this time.

4/30: 223.5
GW: 219.0

Week 1:
5/1: 221.7 (-1.8)
5/2: 222.6 (+0.9)
5/3: 224.5 (+1.9)
5/4: 226.2 (+1.7)
5/5: 224.4 (-1.8)
5/6: 223.3 (-1.1)
5/7: 223.3 (+/-0)
Total for week 1: -0.2
Total for May: -0.2

Week 2:
5/8: 224.7 (+1.4)
5/9: 222.0 (-2.7)
5/10: 222.7 (+0.7)
5/11: 222.2 (-0.5)
5/12: 222.2 (+/-0)
5/13: 221.4 (-0.8)
5/14: 222.6 (+1.2)
Total for week 2: -0.7
Total for May: -0.9

Week 3:
5/15: 220.9 (-1.7)
5/16: 219.2 (-1.7)
5/17: 220.0 (+0.8)
5/18: 221.3 (+1.3)
5/19: 220.3 (-1.0)
5/20: 219.1 (-1.2)
5/21: 219.1 (+/-0)
Total for week 3: -3.5
Total for May: -4.4

Week 4:
5/22: 220.0 (+0.9)
5/23: 219.5 (-0.5)
5/24: 219.5 (+/-0)
5/25: 218.6 (-0.9)
5/26: 218.8 (+0.2)
5/27: 221.2 (+2.4)
5/28: 218.4 (-2.8)
Total for week 4: -0.7
Total for May: -5.1

Final days
5/29: 217.2 (-1.2)
5/30: 217.6 (+0.4)
5/31: 218.0 (+0.4)
Total for final days: -0.4
Total for May: -5.5

Good afternoon! Hope you all have a wonderful day

4/30: 223.5
GW: 219.0

Week 1:
5/1: 221.7 (-1.8)
5/2: 222.6 (+0.9)
5/3: 224.5 (+1.9)
5/4: 226.2 (+1.7)
5/5: 224.4 (-1.8)
5/6: 223.3 (-1.1)

Curvy: You remember correctly! I just finished my master’s in nursing education—now for the fun job hunt My graduation is supposed to be July 10th, maybe the world will be open by then Remote graduations sound like a great solution! It’s so great to hear that your group is still able to meet despite the distance. It’s interesting how much better attendance is for some things now that meetings are being conducted virtually! Maybe it has something to do with a much easier commute or seemingly taking less effort or time, even though you’re still putting in the work!

Martine: I totally hear what you’re saying regarding this being and adjustment period and changes being rapid and fluid. Even working in a hospital, it seems like there’s a change to procedure or updates every time I go in. Glad to hear the mask and gloves are more bearable. Way to go continuing to get your workouts in and stick with a routine with all of this going on!

Thanks for the warm welcome and congratulations, it’s much appreciated! Today’s plans include a hike with my friend from work (and Loki of course!). I’ve never been really hiking before, and I’m very afraid of heights, so this should be interesting

4/30: 223.5
GW: 219.0

Week 1:
5/1: 221.7 (-1.8)
5/2: 222.6 (+0.9)
5/3: 224.5 (+1.9)
5/4: 226.2 (+1.7)
5/5: 224.4 (-1.8)
5/6: 223.3 (-1.1)
5/7: 223.3 (+/-0)
Total for week 1: -0.2
Total for May: -0.2

RunningRedHead: Yes, I agree with you and Martine that better attendance is probably due to the ease of checking in especially since everyone is working remotely. July 10 seems both so far away and yet so close. The days seem to run together, and time is passing so quickly, that July will be here before we know it. We're all hoping and praying that by then more things will have returned to the new normal (whatever that may look like ). Will keep positive thoughts that your graduation goes on as planned. I knew there was another Loki but I couldn't remember who owned it (or does Loki own you? )

Martine: Glad that the mask and glove wearing is getting better. It's the sweating part that gets to me. Some of the other folks I know are having some irritation issues around the mouth. No doubt breathing combined with sweat play a role in this. I get your comment about your store being better prepared. Even with the preparations we're making it's going to be learn as we go day by day. I heard a journalist refer to this as the "new right now" rather than the normal because things were changing rapidly. As you so perfectly stated, sometimes by the hour!
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Today I worked on a Power Point presentation for our incoming transfer veteran students. Our new Coordinator will deliver it with your peers but she's completely new to campus and is still learning. I'm putting together the information on a plain Power Point background and she can add to it and change the background to something more appealing. It's supposed to be 93 degrees today and 96 tomorrow , then early next week, rain and dropping back into the 60s. I'm happy with the fluctuations; much better than if the heat was turned up and never relented until fall.

Happy Thursday!

Curvynotlumpy- Wow that is quite the job from 90 to 60! I feel like it's almost a state sport where I live to whine about the weather but we haven't been seeing fluctuations like that in some time. We are having a cool week in May to much to everyone's dismay. Average is 50's. We had a 70 degree weekend last week and everyone enjoyed it a lot.

Runningredhead - Enjoy your hike with Loki

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Over in these parts I've been having a slow week on weight loss. I've been seeing 185s and 184s but what I really wanted to see is 183s. My Grandma who lived in Florida passed away on Saturday. I hardly knew her so it wasn't a very emotional event for me. Still, I am an hourly worker and not one to turn down paid time off. So I got mon-wens off for bereavement. I headed on down to the dollar store on the corner and loaded up on diet coke and a few sugar free snacks I usually try not to eat all the time. I figured I've been given a strange little vacation and should try to make the most of it. Can't go out anywhere so may as well eat some very low calorie chemical junk xD. I had a great couple of days. Stayed on my computer in bed for hours, reorganized my room, and talked to my Dad everyday. I do wonder if the diet coke caused some water retention. I usually just drink it on the weekend. Tomorrow is treat day and I've opted to stay in and make pancakes (maybe waffles) and fried pork cutlet for dinner. Will especially try not to go too crazy tomorrow though. On my non treat days I am going to be extra vigilant for awhile to make sure I am on track.

Curvy: …You may be on to something here…. Loki may actually be the one in charge, but :shh: don’t tell her that Wow, 90 to 60 is such a big swing! I agree with you about it being better than staying sweltering until the fall though—it’s all about perspective I suppose

Bloominbutterflies: I’m sorry to hear of your loss—even if you didn’t know her, I can imagine there is some change to mentally process. Your dinner plan sounds delicious! The hike was good, I only whined a little

A little bit of a bump up today, which I was expecting thanks to hiking yesterday—I’m definitely not that used to quad/hams work. I’m sore, but not nearly as sore as I thought I would be given how much fun walking was last night Here are some pictures from the hike (and the low carb-friendly brownie mug cake I made for a post-new experience treat)!

My plan for today is to get over to the store and buy some more cabbage to make another round of eggroll in a bowl, which is super easy to prep and pre-pack for my work meal prep this weekend. Also plan for a nice long walk (on level ground!) with Loki. Have a great day, everyone!!

4/30: 223.5
5/7: 223.3
GW: 219.0


Week 2:
5/8: 224.7 (+1.4)