Weight Loss PVP: 10 lbs in 10 Weeks! [4 Jan - 15 Mar, 2021]

[Shello]

Starting Weight: 265.8

W1: 264.6 (down 1.2)

W2:  264.2 (down 0.4)

W3: 262.6 (down 1.6)

W4: 262.4 (down 0.2)

W5: 264.6 (UP 2.2)

W6: 259.2 (down 5.4)

W7: 258.8 (down 0.4)

W8: 258.8 (no change)

 

This plateau is really frustrating but I'm happy that I didn't gain.  Even if I had I have been fluctuating up and down from 258.8 to 260.4 for 2 weeks so a gain in that range would just be maintaining.  I don't necessarily think I need to make any changes.  I'm mostly doing the right things without being overly strict about it.   But I could snack a little less, or find a chocolate source.  A handful of M&Ms here and there really add up.  My movement goal in my challenge has been helping too.  I've slowly been transitioning from just making time to do any movement to looking for things that impact my heartrate more and actually work more muscle groups.   I'll get there.  Doing another 10 week set would be really great too to keep the eye on the prize!  

[Elennare]

Much to my surprise, I am down about half a pound from last week!  And my waist is down a half inch (the same half inch I keep gaining back and then losing again).  In fact, all my measurements are the same or down vs the start of Feb.  I do indeed seem to be making some real progress!

 

Why is this a surprise?  Because I have not been doing great tracking my food the last week and a half or so.  Last week especially.  It was crazy, I had a lot of stuff going on, including a job interview and then being called the same afternoon to tell me they want to offer me the job, but I haven't actually gotten the offer yet, so I have been all over the place emotionally, with it seeming to settle on anxiety until things are resolved, which means I can't sleep (even more than normal).  Yikes.  But, I should be getting the official offer some time this week, so that will be good.  And I've managed to keep up with exercise through all of this.

 

My biggest surprise gain, though?  On Friday, I was doing my exercise with my husband, and it was an arms-focused workout.  And I looked down at my very active arm, and noticed a weird divot in it.  I've seen it before, but it looked bigger than the last time I noticed it.  So I pointed it out to my husband, and was like "what do you think that is?" and he looks at my arm, and then gives me a weird look, and tells me it's muscle definition.  Lol, what?  So, after several minutes of looking at and poking our arms, I manage to come to the conclusion that he's right.  I am actually getting a bit of muscle definition in my arms that I never had before!

[Elennare]

Why can I find a St. Patrick's Day shirt for a tiny dog, but not for a boy? One of the kids is supposed to wear something that represents his culture tomorrow. How to do that without being offensive? Go specific ancestry. But, of course, one apparently can't find anything like that. The other option we came up with is a red vest, which is apparently part of the folk costume from the area of Sweden that Husband's family is from. Can't find one of those either (and there's no way we'd be able to find anything remotely close to Polish folk costumes). So he's either going to wear a red shirt or a green shirt, because that's the best we can do.

 

And to make it even better, the other one is supposed to have a Dr. Seuss dress up day tomorrow. Can't find any Dr. Seuss shirts, or accessories that look remotely close to some sort of Dr. Seuss character. So, I figured I'll get him a red long sleeve t-shirt and glue a white fabric circle in the middle of it with "Thing 1" written on it. But, there are no plain red shirts, of any style, in his size. So he's getting the Thing 1 circle made out of paper and stuck on an old school polo with fashion tape (and will have part of the logo sticking out because I can't do anything about that) and blue hairspray.

 

😡

 

So, here I am at 11pm finishing all that up, having eaten too many calories, and not done any exercise yet. Today is going to be a few squats sort of night. Especially since I will have to get up slightly early to fix up Little One's outfit.

[KB Girl]

On 2/28/2021 at 8:21 PM, Keladris said:

I'm not usually one to share pics of me in my underwear, but I'm sooo proud of how much I've changed (and so glad that I took the pics, cos it's not easy to see the changes over time without them). 

Whoa that is amazing! wouldn't have expected such a visual difference from 5kg either. Inspiring! thanks for sharing

[theophilus]

Down a meager 0.2 lb this week. Makes sense tbh. Kept up with my runs and workouts but just kinda let the wheels fall off food-wise. Still almost on track to drop 10 lb by the end, so I'm going to refocus and reset for the final two-ish weeks.

[Elastigirl]

Ate too much this morning, and was tempted to not track. I remembered my goal for this week was to just track food, even if I went over  my goal. Tracked food, and actually hit my goal. Granted, I counted all my calories for walking according to Fitbit numbers, which  I think are high, but still not bad for a day that I felt like just saying screw it at the beginning

[Elennare]

22 hours ago, Elennare said:

Why can I find a St. Patrick's Day shirt for a tiny dog, but not for a boy? One of the kids is supposed to wear something that represents his culture tomorrow. How to do that without being offensive? Go specific ancestry. But, of course, one apparently can't find anything like that. The other option we came up with is a red vest, which is apparently part of the folk costume from the area of Sweden that Husband's family is from. Can't find one of those either (and there's no way we'd be able to find anything remotely close to Polish folk costumes). So he's either going to wear a red shirt or a green shirt, because that's the best we can do.

 

And to make it even better, the other one is supposed to have a Dr. Seuss dress up day tomorrow. Can't find any Dr. Seuss shirts, or accessories that look remotely close to some sort of Dr. Seuss character. So, I figured I'll get him a red long sleeve t-shirt and glue a white fabric circle in the middle of it with "Thing 1" written on it. But, there are no plain red shirts, of any style, in his size. So he's getting the Thing 1 circle made out of paper and stuck on an old school polo with fashion tape (and will have part of the logo sticking out because I can't do anything about that) and blue hairspray.

 

😡

 

So, here I am at 11pm finishing all that up, having eaten too many calories, and not done any exercise yet. Today is going to be a few squats sort of night. Especially since I will have to get up slightly early to fix up Little One's outfit.

Oops. That was supposed to go on my challenge thread, not here! I was apparently more out of it than I thought last night. 😳. Sorry about that!

[KB Girl]

I’ve fallen off the wagon a bit too much by comfort eating all the things. Writing it down here for accountability that as of right now I’m going back to my usual strategy of making actual decisions about things instead of running on auto pilot. 

[Rurik Harrgath]

16 hours ago, Elastigirl said:

Ate too much this morning, and was tempted to not track. I remembered my goal for this week was to just track food, even if I went over  my goal. Tracked food, and actually hit my goal. Granted, I counted all my calories for walking according to Fitbit numbers, which  I think are high, but still not bad for a day that I felt like just saying screw it at the beginning

 

I can be bad for this too.  It's all too easy just to give up on the day once you've already committed an 'offence' but I find I'll restrain my 'sins' somewhat if I force myself to track them as I go.  It's been the difference between a few pieces of pizza today and a few tomorrow instead of one whole large pizza right now even though I'm already stuffed, for example.  It's kinda depressing to see that Big Red -1,284 (or whatever) on MFP but it's a good reminder to exhibit some self-control next time, or motivation to reset tomorrow!

[KB Girl]

14 hours ago, Rurik Harrgath said:

 

I can be bad for this too.  It's all too easy just to give up on the day once you've already committed an 'offence' but I find I'll restrain my 'sins' somewhat if I force myself to track them as I go.  It's been the difference between a few pieces of pizza today and a few tomorrow instead of one whole large pizza right now even though I'm already stuffed, for example.  It's kinda depressing to see that Big Red -1,284 (or whatever) on MFP but it's a good reminder to exhibit some self-control next time, or motivation to reset tomorrow!

That’s why I like to work with a weekly kcal goal instead of a daily- really puts that sort of behaviour into perspective. 

[Harriet]

Is this a rolling PVP, or a one-off? Can I join in?

 

I'm trying to take off what I think of as the lockdown five (kilograms). I started at 75, lost 1 just by ceasing to eat everything always, and lost another 2 by calorie counting with what I hope is a standard 500cal cut. First time I've done counting consistently since the disastrous failure-diet of 2017, and it is surprisingly easy and comfortable. I doubt it will stay that way for the whole journey, though, so I want to learn some good habits that will help me do this for the long term.
 

[Kestrel Grey]

Reminder that this is food waste action week.  Look through your crisper drawers to see what needs to be used up, skip buying lunch out if you have leftovers to finish.   I just made a big pot of veggie soup stock with the wilting veggies and the beet leaves that I usually just toss straight in the compost.

 

5 hours ago, Harriet said:

Is this a rolling PVP, or a one-off? Can I join in?

 

I think the plan is to roll right into another 10 week PVP after this one ends. Welcome and we'll be learning from your successes too!  Any thoughts on what is helping calorie counting work better for you this time?

[Shello]

25 minutes ago, Kestrel Grey said:

Reminder that this is food waste action week.  Look through your crisper drawers to see what needs to be used up, skip buying lunch out if you have leftovers to finish.   I just made a big pot of veggie soup stock with the wilting veggies and the beet leaves that I usually just toss straight in the compost.

Good to know!  Thanks for sharing. 

[Harriet]

23 minutes ago, Kestrel Grey said:

I think the plan is to roll right into another 10 week PVP after this one ends. Welcome and we'll be learning from your successes too!  Any thoughts on what is helping calorie counting work better for you this time?

Yeah, in 2017 I cut calories way too low, while still eating the processed junk I was used to. Just tiny portions and self hatred. Afterwards I had this overwhelming feeling of food scarcity for... three years or so? Sooo. This time I'm putting vegetables and protein at the centre of my plan, along with low calorie things I actually like, such as soup. But I'm only 1.5 weeks in, so I have no doubt things will get harder.

[Shello]

1 minute ago, Harriet said:

Just tiny portions and self hatred.

That sounds traumatic.  I'm glad you've found a new path.  None of it is easy.  

[Harriet]

14 minutes ago, Shello said:

That sounds traumatic.  I'm glad you've found a new path.  None of it is easy.  

 

Thank you 😊 It was stressful, and also primed me to be willfully credulous when it came to all these diet books or plans that said I didn't have to count calories, I just had to eat healthy (whatever "healthy" means... it changes from guru to guru). Turns out I can put away a surplus in "healthy" food with no problem, though. 🤷‍♀️

[Rurik Harrgath]

8 hours ago, Harriet said:

Is this a rolling PVP, or a one-off? Can I join in?

 

This one will wrapup with the end of the current challenge (ish) and I'll reboot the new one to start Week 0 of next, but feel free to join whenever and just roll your progress over into the next one too!

 

3 hours ago, Kestrel Grey said:

Reminder that this is food waste action week.  Look through your crisper drawers to see what needs to be used up, skip buying lunch out if you have leftovers to finish.   I just made a big pot of veggie soup stock with the wilting veggies and the beet leaves that I usually just toss straight in the compost.

 

Totally forgot a new Weekly Win, so this is perfect!  Use those leftover ingredients and toss what doesn't serve you!

 

My vegan protein arrived yesterday (I think I'm having ongoing lactose issues) and I just tossed my peanut butter (it causes digestive issues too but I love love love it) for almond butter, but I'm going to sort through my cupboards and fridge to set myself up for success too!

[Yasha92]

28% of the world’s farmland is used to grow food that is lost or wasted. THANKYOU for the reminder to do our own small parts against food waste. If I might make a suggestion for those who have something beyond salvaging (mouldy pumpkin soup for me  ) and who don’t have a home composter: have a look at the app/website called ShareWaste. People put their compost bins up as a host, so those in apartments/scared to backyard compost can drop off their scraps to an established bin. Super cool idea and it functions well. I am both a compost host, and have been a chicken-snack-dropper-offer for some bits I wasn’t comfortable composting (prawn shells and a batch of mouldy bread). There are hosts all over the world and if you’re really keen you can track how many kg you’ve diverted from landfill.

 

*obviously be covid safe, if there are no active bins near you and you don’t have the spoons to set one up plz don’t hate on yourself.

[Endor]

3 hours ago, Rurik Harrgath said:

My vegan protein arrived yesterday (I think I'm having ongoing lactose issues

I have major issues with ordinary Whey protein, severe can't walk stomach cramps. I switched to WPI (isolate) and have no problems at all. I used the Evolve brand, but I also tried PranaOn vegan one, it tasted great and gave me no issues but I didn't much like the consistency.  Which brand are you using?

[Endor]

2 hours ago, Yasha92 said:

the spoons to set one

so now I'm imagining a compost bin made of spoons  

[Elennare]

This week is a disaster. I keep eating things that are really hard to track in MFP, I'm probably eating way too much, and I have actually missed a few days of exercise this week because I just feel bad. I've needed a break from work all week, and the best I could do was taking the morning as a sick day today because I've had too much work the other days this week. So, I am not looking forward to weigh in on Monday. Blergh.

[Loveable_Bouncer]

My goal was to complete the challenge at 290 this week, ended up dropping to 288.  Was confused when I saw the 280 pop up on my scale. 

 

Just wow... I'm taking advantage of my part time job status/ extra time before I get a full time job to troubleshoot my goals. For once playing the game of troubleshooting. 

Thank you all for being part of the PVP honestly, seeing all of your trouble shooting has made me super mindful of checking in with myself. 

 

 

Going to do a personal attempt to maintain the rest of March with weekly weigh-ins. I have pesonally never tried to maintain a "280s" . But am planning to try to trouble shoot meal ideas on what I should eat in a week. Along with working on gaining stamina with exercise (I currently can't even do 1 full curcuit of the NF beginner workout with all the modifications). 

Hoping I will be able to do small changes in April, that I now realize will match up for after Easter goals. 

[Loveable_Bouncer]

11 hours ago, Elennare said:

This week is a disaster. I keep eating things that are really hard to track in MFP, I'm probably eating way too much, and I have actually missed a few days of exercise this week because I just feel bad. I've needed a break from work all week, and the best I could do was taking the morning as a sick day today because I've had too much work the other days this week. So, I am not looking forward to weigh in on Monday. Blergh.

Honestly sounds like life has been giving you a higher level of difficuly, and your HP dropped quite a bit. 

Hope you can rest up this weekend and gain back a little to help keep on going. You got this!

 

[Rurik Harrgath]

21 hours ago, Endor said:

I have major issues with ordinary Whey protein, severe can't walk stomach cramps. I switched to WPI (isolate) and have no problems at all. I used the Evolve brand, but I also tried PranaOn vegan one, it tasted great and gave me no issues but I didn't much like the consistency.  Which brand are you using?

 

MyProtein's pea protein.  It tastes fine and smells divine, but it's almost Casein in consistency which really f*cks with my habitual protein cookies bedtime snack.  Last night's recipe was pretty deplorable... so I'll first try to tweak that (thinking I'll try adding an egg) and go from there.  Otherwise I'll keep whey isolates in mind as a fall back plan - probably should have gone that way first!  😆

[Harriet]

3 hours ago, Fairly_Bouncer said:

Going to do a personal attempt to maintain the rest of March with weekly weigh-ins. I have pesonally never tried to maintain a "280s" . But am planning to try to trouble shoot meal ideas on what I should eat in a week. Along with working on gaining stamina with exercise (I currently can't even do 1 full curcuit of the NF beginner workout with all the modifications). 

Hoping I will be able to do small changes in April, that I now realize will match up for after Easter goals. 

 

Good luck maintaining and adding to your stamina! Those are both awesome goals. 1 full circuit coming soon.