January 2018 Weight Loss Challenge

QOTD: I'm not genetically hardwired to be a good housekeeper... I'm actually naturally quite messy. When I get around to doing my chores I do enjoy them, as I most enjoy work where I can see what I've done/accomplished. If I had to pick one thing I don't love doing I guess it would be mopping the floor, although vacuuming is one of my favorites.

Accountability:

Simplify eating... for dinner last night I had a serving of the casserole, instead of ordering in pizza - yah me! For the simple eating part of the challenge I've decided breakfast will be a rotation of oatmeal, chia pudding and rice pudding all with fruit: lunches will be something I've cooked where I get multiple servings out of each cooking session: dinner will be a power juice drink.
No Starbucks... well, technically I didn't have Starbucks for breakfast this morning, so technically I guess I'm on point even though I did have a Starbucks-like breakfast.
Daily Practice... getting back on track.
Meditative walk... got in a couple short ones.

The course/challenge officially starts in about half an hour, when the course content will be unlocked and available. My packet hasn't arrived yet so it'll all be new to me, other than what we've been discussing on FB. Last night I finished knitting up the pink hats I've been working on for this year's women's march, so no household "simplification" work was done... I'll resume that effort tonight. The kitchen needs the most attention first, so I am ready for the simple eating portion of the course, I want to do my weekly shopping and prepping on Sunday. The areas where I've done clearing feel nice and light, so it'll be good to get more space in the house opened up. Getting ready in the mornings is so much nicer with the dresser cleared out to only things I am actually using/wearing, and there isn't a jumble of stuff to rummage thru, so I know food prep/cooking will be much more enjoyable when the kitchen is set right.
 
Chores..... I hate them all. I really hate the bathroom, emptying the dishwasher and taking out the trash.
 
For the past few weeks, it's been so, so cold here. It didn't get above freezing for several days, which is not normal for Memphis. We get cold in January but not this cold for this long. Yesterday and today, it's been in the mid-60's, and rainy. Tomorrow the high is 28 and they're calling for sleet/ice overnight. I am SO OVER WINTER. I hate it so much. :rotfl: Can it be spring yet?

Woohoo's for yesterday -
1) Yesterday was my first full day of just ONE job, and I am ecstatic for the break. I love my little shirt shop so much but it's so nice to have it off my plate for a few months so I can focus on other things. It was just all-consuming.
2) Did squats while I made some shirts Tuesday night and all day yesterday I was SO SORE. It was nice to feel results from what seemed at the time to be a fruitless 5-minute exercise.
3) Started packing for Disney! 16 days until we're back and I'm so excited I could burst.

The cookies at work are already calling my name, haha. But I've got plenty of room for them in my numbers tonight so I'll probably end up succumbing. We managed a grocery store run last night but didn't have time to actually cook anything we got so dinner tonight is a very hastily packed lunchable of deli turkey and hardboiled eggs. It's better than nothing, though, I guess!


I've got tomorrow off, though I was going to come to work and pick up more hours since I was only scheduled four days instead of five again this week and we need the money. If the weather's bad, though, I'm not leaving my house, haha. Honestly, if the weather's not bad I still may not leave my house. I desperately need to get something productive done at home, because it looks like a tornado came through, and it has since November because December was just pure insanity. Now that my off days can actually *be* off days again, I'm looking forward to hopefully keeping things up better around there. We'll see.
 


OH! Weighed in at a 5.8 loss this morning, putting me at 116% of my 5lb. January goal. So excited to see this progress. I'm definitely one of those people who gets discouraged and loses interest if it takes too long to start to see progress, so this is really helpful for me to stay on track. I'm sure so much of it is just water weight, but I'll take it just the same.
 
The chore I hate to do the most is Dishes. DH keeps saying I will get some done when I have to go out and run errands that only I can do-like pick up stuff at the Extension Service Office-and he never does. Guess it is time to stop waiting for him to do them and just do them myself. Not looking forward to that. It wouldn't be bad if we had a dishwasher that worked.
Got a couple quick games of tennis in and a game of bowling on the wii this morning all of them single person games. Hopefully can get some more in this evening or even check out my biggest loser game.
 
That's my son's birthday :) OK I have question. I keep hearing about intermittent fasting. What is that?
Intermittent fasting is going for periods without eating. We all fast overnight, but you can choose to lengthen that fast by skipping the morning meal and eating at noon, for instance. Many people actually chose an eating window of 4 to 8 hours and the rest of the day is fasting.

Combined with the ketogenic diet (Low Carb High Fat) it gives the body more time to use stored fat for fuel during the fasting periods. I'm sure it can be combined with any style of eating in order to restrict overall calories in a day.
 


Snacks: sweet for sure. Not big on salt, rarely use it. I can eat those chocolate covered almonds from Costco by the fistful. Now I only eat two or four at a time, savoring each nut!

Chores: I hate housework. I do it only when absolutely necessary. I say only people who love me can enter my house and certainly nobody who is allergic to dust!!!

Last night I had plenty of calories for junk food but got busy and then it was bedtime. Tonight I don't have the calories and ate junk anyway! Good thing these things all even out.

Tomorrow I have a meeting in the morning. I like seeing my fellow co-workers from around the city, but those meetings always mean more work for us. I'm dreading it. But heck, it's going to be a three day weekend so hooray! And I get to see my son; granted I'm helping him move. It is a bigger apartment--just a wee bit smaller than our house!! And because he lives four hours away DH and I get a night in a hotel--no household chores there!!!
 
OH! Weighed in at a 5.8 loss this morning, putting me at 116% of my 5lb. January goal. So excited to see this progress. I'm definitely one of those people who gets discouraged and loses interest if it takes too long to start to see progress, so this is really helpful for me to stay on track. I'm sure so much of it is just water weight, but I'll take it just the same.

That is me, I see no progress and get discouraged. That is why I did not pick a weight loss goal. My body refuses to lose. I once had a personal trainer and he watched me like a hawk. Even had a body bug on me to see my movement. I met him 4 times a week at gym, watched my diet, and nothing. It even stumped him. Is very frustrating. I keep trying though. I would love to lose weight like you are.

Intermittent fasting is going for periods without eating. We all fast overnight, but you can choose to lengthen that fast by skipping the morning meal and eating at noon, for instance. Many people actually chose an eating window of 4 to 8 hours and the rest of the day is fasting.
Combined with the ketogenic diet (Low Carb High Fat) it gives the body more time to use stored fat for fuel during the fasting periods. I'm sure it can be combined with any style of eating in order to restrict overall calories in a day.

Is hard for me to do that intermittent thing. My schedule is all over the place. I work nights, but am also up during the day. I am severely sleep deprived. I have a feeling that is a big part of my problem, but I cannot find a way to fix that. Too much to do, so I just get naps when I can.

On a good note I walked all afternoon/early evening at the Magic Kingdom and my knee still feels fine :) once get muscles unsore I will hopefully be back to normal. Then I am going to try to start walking around my new neighborhood in the morning. I like the early hours when I can hear the birds. Plus that is generally when it is most comfortable temp wise to walk.
 
Today is proper messy day I have to confess and I am going out for drinks & food after work. They have "wine poached pears and plum with rum and raisin ice cream" for dessert - no way I am saying no to that, i love ice cream and fruit. The meal includes starter, main, dessert, 2 cocktails and half a bottle of wine each! It dont' think I can drink all that, but I can ask if they give me prosecco instead of cocktails and that's as far as my being good goes.

There is big scandal in Ireland (well, not that big really! it's just internet thing) about bloggers looking NOTHING like they do in real, and I know fist hand as one of them goes to my gym. her instigram image is so altered, that its more like an avatar, complete creations and nothing to do with how she actually looks


It makes me sad for her, that she wants to alter her image so much. Mothers are giving out that their girls follow her and buy products she falsely promote, but on larger scale we dont anymore see imaginary of real women in magazines or advertisement and no wonder we often feel so.. no good enough. Reminds me of the movie Embrace.

anyway - I meeting awesome lady, i am going to enjoy her company and the food and I won't worry about calories. Have a great weekend all

I had smashing workout in the gym last night, and I hate to admit but I got little competitive in my yoga class! Lol. I can do all my poses well now from the current bodybalance edition, for first time ever. I feel much stronger last few months and I like it

but i shouldn't be competitive, it's not a competitive thing.
 
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Intermittent fasting is going for periods without eating. We all fast overnight, but you can choose to lengthen that fast by skipping the morning meal and eating at noon, for instance. Many people actually chose an eating window of 4 to 8 hours and the rest of the day is fasting.

I have done this since I was a kid. I just don't like eating in the morning. 10 or 11 at the earliest I eat but on the weekends it might be 12 or 1. I do have to eat before I work out if I work out in the morning. If I do I get dizzy and have no energy to finish the workout.
 
239
240
240 at least i didn't go up..
238 mobetter! :)
237
237 (was worried this might be more... :) )
 
Accountability:

Simplify eating... had my last serving of casserole for dinner last night, so this was a success.
No Starbucks... well, this is morning is truly my last SB breakfast.
Daily practice... still working on getting back on track here
Meditative walks... didn't do one yesterday

I started clearing in the kitchen last night, getting thru the three drawers that mostly have baking stuff in them. I think I'll get the cupboards finished tonight, as the kitchen is small so there aren't very many of them. It really does feel good to get things organized and to get rid of the stuff that isn't needed... like, unless you're a professional pie baker do you really need 6 pie pans? I think not. I also want to get the craft stuff organized at least to the point where I can do some sewing, because after purging clothing I do need a few more things in my regular work rotation... I've got plenty of fabric on hand, so no shopping is needed.

I'll be re-doing the juice cleanse over the weekend, and then will transition to the new simplified eating plan the beginning of next week. I'm hopeful that approaching it from the intent of making cooking and eating easier, rather than from just trying to loose weight, will lead to greater success in weight control. I'm still waiting for the details/cost of the retreat in Alaska to be posted, but I am planning on going and sure do want to be in good shape for some hiking while I'm there, which means getting about 30 pounds or so off before late June so I can get back to where I am most comfortable.

Hope all have a happy and healthful weekend!
 
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Popping in to say hello and hold myself accountable for the past (almost) 2 weeks. I tracked for 9 of past 12 days... 36% overall. One of those days I planned on tracking and did not... but I can't afford any more slip ups like that being that the other 3 free pass days are accounted for.... (my b'day, DH b'day and our party).

And while it's not my goal I'm tracking on here, I am happy that I am least still on track with the gym. Despite the craziness that my schedule has seen, I rearranged and got in half of the planned workouts for the month. So I'm going to woohoo that and enjoy the weekend :-)

Have a wonderful weekend everyone!!!
 
HappyGrape I didn't know you were in Ireland :)

Mco65 your scale acts like mine, doesn't like to move much. At least it went in right direction :)
 
oh my, the dessert was horrible! I had the bit of ice cream and left the rest. But the night was great. Yesterday was the messiest day so far this year. To start with I had my breakfast and I felt really bread hungry 2 hours after. I got bagel, slice of bread and egg late morning. i decided I don't really need lunch and I had yogurt and fruit at about 2. I was really hungry for dinner but gave the bread basket a miss. I had somewhat healthy choices - crab avocado starter (small portion) hake potatoes and asparagus main course, had bellini for my cocktail and white wine. May be I underestimated some of my calories, but even on messy day like this it was nice to see I can make it work and with 18000 steps, my maths add up to 500 cal deficit. I felt the munchies after when I got home but went to bed.
 
Got fresh batteries for my scale now to get them installed once I find out where my almost 13 year old put the bag that had them and the socks I got (which hopefully fit right on me. I have a pair left of 3 I got years ago that are perfect in cushioning, staying up, not being too tight around my ankles, being at the right height and have yet to find that style lately doing a search) which I am guessing was in the bag with the wii remotes and other stuff we got.
 
Hello Dearies!

In the time it took me to catch up on everyone's news, all the houseapes have awakened and started quarreling and nattering, so I have to make this quick (as opposed to most days when I don't get to make it on at all...)

We got hit with the same "outside exercise is off the menu" weather as everyone else, recently... so I have only gotten a quick walk in... only to discover that my go-to park has removed all their porta-potties for the season and fixed the lock on their year-round bathroom-- it's so nice to pay taxes all year so that they can only unlock the facilities when out-of-towners come here with their soccer tournaments... seriously... I thought I saw a forecast that today would be nice, but woke up to snow... le sigh...

I will put my progress at 15%... because I have tried to track and haven't had any serious binges, been pretty good about taking my vitamins (which is a big one for me) so I'm saying that I'm at half of where I ought to be for how far we are into the month. I figured out the other day that "someone" has been "in my space" EVERY DAY since before Christmas... I am an introvert... I like people, but I need my quiet time... realizing that since before Christmas, there has not been a single day when I would usually have "alone" time when someone has not come home early, gone to school late, stayed home sick, etc... well that explains a LOT...

I'm looking forward to a "better" week next week as H will be on the other side of the world. Yes, that sounds mean, but I mean it. :) He hates the smell of seafood and is pretty messy, so whenever he goes out of town things get quieter, cleaner, and we eat healthier. :) Also, I start back to school on Wednesday, and the kids know that means not to call unless they're dying, and it will be nice to start into a routine again. Hopefully that means I will get to log in more often, but I am thrilled to see the progress starting for some of us!

Ok, l chaos is ensuing, better go. Happy weekend to all!
 
239
240
240 at least i didn't go up..
238 mobetter! :)
237
237 (was worried this might be more... :) )
238 (.0, still... sufferin' succatash!)
 
SO weather around here is not the greatest. Yesterday I got out of work early because we were getting so much freezing rain. When I left for work our temp was 55 by the time I left work 7 hours later it was 24. We had rain, freezing rain, sleet and then about 3-5 inches of snow. DH and I ran to the rec when I got home before the snow really started then we just hung out at the house. We had to go out this morning because DD had an eye dr appointment. On our way their the roads were not great but by the time we left they were much better on the main roads. Now it is just cold.

After we got home I played Kinect adventure on the Xbox for 50 minutes. This is one good workout. The one that I do (the game has a few games to it) has a bunch of lunges, squats and jumping. At times you go from squatting to jumping. You can also race with someone and the kids love to try and beat me. It is a lot of fun but very exhausting.
 

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