Weight Loss Challenge

[cwsmith]

My scale is moving in the wrong direction!!!

I'm up to 188 lbs. So, I'm beginning to wonder if this new scale is working with any accuracy at all.

I'm afraid I'm a creature of habit; but several months ago I decided I wanted to loose weight. Not that I felt fatter, but I certainly wasn't my anywhere close to the weight that I was in my 30's and 40's; and "my gut" of the late 90's had already been trimmed significantly. But still, I decided to cut out some of evening snacks. No more potato chips while I watched TV, gone too was the small bowl of ice cream during the news, and that piece of Hershey's after lunch. That was all cut back in October and at Christmas, I still hadn't lost a pound.

So along came the BT3 challenge and I figured I might want to jump into that and here I am three weeks later and I've actually gained almost a pound. I was really hoping that all this snow shoveling of the past couple of weeks would do the trick, but obviously not.

I'm NOT giving up though!

CWS

[leehljp]

My scale is moving in the wrong direction!!!

I'm up to 188 lbs. So, I'm beginning to wonder if this new scale is working with any accuracy at all. . .

I'm NOT giving up though!

CWS

Same for me! I am at 230 - up from 227 at the beginning! But I am trying!

I should add, as LOML reminded me, we have had a much longer and colder winter than in years, even when we were overseas. As a result, I have been inside far more than usual. It has been nearly 3 months since I did more than 15 minutes work outside or even in my shop. I am getting "cabin fever" so to speak. My shop is not heated. Lack of even a little work outside is hurting the weight loss and even contributing to weight gain!

[atgcpaul]

Last week I started using MyFitnessPal (MFP)to track my calorie intake as well as adding in my exercise.

I'm glad you posted that. I got burnt out with tracking during WW but I know it helps. Since I joined this challenge, I've been wanting to track again. This app is a lot like the WW app (but faster).

[trungdok]

Haven't re-weighted myself yet, but I wouldn't doubt that I've been gaining. I'm just hoping it's muscle weight LOL.

[dbhost]

Grrr. Maybe I can step down a size in snowpants in another week or two

I probably ought to mention, the community gym has an indoor pool and it is in no small part of why we joined. It had been in the mid 30s for several weeks, then a freak spit of 70s, now back to the 30s and 40s... I guess mother nature is trying to give me pnuemonia...

[cwsmith]

Hank,

Thanks, but at least you have a reason for any weight gain (inactivity). I've been outside almost every day over the last week, shoveling snow. Not only do I do my double-wide sidewalk, but I also am shoveling the neighbors too!

Maybe I need to have the LOML, stop cooking for a while.

We're married forty-six years, and over that period I've gained 71 lbs.

CWS

[Black wallnut]

Hank,

Thanks, but at least you have a reason for any weight gain (inactivity). I've been outside almost every day over the last week, shoveling snow. Not only do I do my double-wide sidewalk, but I also am shoveling the neighbors too!

Maybe I need to have the LOML, stop cooking for a while.

We're married forty-six years, and over that period I've gained 71 lbs.

CWS

You can't out exercise a diet that provides more than you need. That is less than 2 pounds a year which is less than a teaspoon of sugar a day. MyFitnessPal has taught me rather quickly how much I have been over eating. It really is no wonder why I have not lost much weight in the last year and half. BTW I am now losing again.

Looking at the spreadsheet though Cochese and Woodturner are kicking butt! Well done guys!

[Cochese]

I'm going to edge back up this week. Not a lot of activity.

[woodturner]

Looking at the spreadsheet though Cochese and Woodturner are kicking butt! Well done guys!

My loss is slowing, though, and I am concerned. Must be the exercise building muscle, couldn't possibly be all the pizza at meetings .

I hope the 96.6 loss posted by BigguyZ is a typo. If not, there is no way I can catch up!

[BigguyZ]

My loss is slowing, though, and I am concerned. Must be the exercise building muscle, couldn't possibly be all the pizza at meetings .

I hope the 96.6 loss posted by BigguyT is a typo. If not, there is no way I can catch up!

Yes that's a typo! Unfortunately, the part where I gained weight wasn't.... I've found that you won't loose any until you're really ready to do so. And at that time, I wasn't ready to lose any. But now I'm down 3-4 lbs this week... Only 100 more to go...

[atgcpaul]

Great job everyone!

One thing our WW team leader told us is that once you hit the 5% mark, you'll feel physical benefits. I felt mine around 7% but otherwise she was right.

My knees didn't ache as much going up and down stairs. My feet didn't hurt as much after a day's work (even with custom orthotics). I was sleeping better at night. I have sleep apnea and I was noticeably less tired in the morning and I didn't wake up with as dry a throat. I also had more energy. Once I was off WW, though, and dipped back under 7%, I felt them coming back. I'm right on the cusp of that 7% from when that first WW weigh in, so I'm looking forward to it.

I'm going to the bike shop after work to buy a handlebar tablet holder and front wheel stabilizer. I've been using the lack of those as excuses for not getting on my bike trainer.

Paul

[leehljp]

You can't out exercise a diet that provides more than you need. That is less than 2 pounds a year which is less than a teaspoon of sugar a day. MyFitnessPal has taught me rather quickly how much I have been over eating. It really is no wonder why I have not lost much weight in the last year and half. BTW I am now losing again.

Looking at the spreadsheet though Cochese and Woodturner are kicking butt! Well done guys!

One thing I have always wondered about - just about every restaurant, except high end coat and tie restaurants, serve an over abundance of food as a serving IMO. And this includes fast food. The $1.00 menu is more than enough for me, but I don't like them. When LOML and I are traveling and there are no "dollar" meals available while we are on the go, we will order a single regular order and split it. And still gain weight. When given a choice of small, medium or large, I always get a small. If LOML is with me, I will sometimes get a medium and split it. Chili's, Applebe's, Out Back, Red Lobster, steak restaurants - too much!

I hate wasting it and won't eat it if I take it home.

[twistsol]

It's been interesting tracking what I eat for the past few months. I started in Early November. One of the benefits of working in California is that most restaurants post calories for every item on the menu. I makes things much simpler to figure out.

I have been shocked by some of the things I've seen.

Sourdough bread adds 460 calories to my favorite sandwich vs whole wheat.
The one that really blew me away was at Chipotle when getting a burrito bowl instead of a burrito. The tortilla alone is 300 calories.

After a couple of weeks of too much working and not enough working out, I've finally resumed the downward path.

[Black wallnut]

Hank I think that is due to marketing. Restaurants want to give their customers value for their money. Add to that the higher calorie demand when we were not such a sedentary society. Reasons aside it is a shame. When I was a young boy and when we traveled my parents would split every meal between two or more of us when we ate at a restaurant. If only I would have made that a life long habit........

twistsol congrats!

I ate way too much in the last half of last week. Gained a few pounds. Time to try harder.

[dbhost]

Sorry about the blanks in my sheet entry. I am just going to be honest here. I am staying steady, not losing. I have had some difficulty with WW since the change in plans, and FINALLY got an answer to my inquiry. I have made adjustments and the weight is starting to move now...

Now while weight isn't moving, I am dropping sizes. My pants are fitting looser, and I had to drop down into a size smaller swim shorts to keep going with my workouts.

LOML and I are hitting the gym 3 to 4 times a week. doing laps in the pool, or cardio / weights depending on the night. We keep it mixed up so that the body doesn't get too used to the routine.