Weight Loss PVP: 10/12 lbs in 10/12 Weeks! [Mar 22 - June 7]

[Aquarii]

21 minutes ago, Rurik Harrgath said:

Yeah, I was down to 208 the other day then up to 211 by mid-afternoon, then down to 209 the next day, and 208 again today... I like to weigh myself at different times throughout the day just to dispel the scale shock.

 

Same. I mean, I don’t do it all the time now because I have done it for years and know it fluctuates constantly, but I still do it on occasion. Also, as a female, I just throw out scale numbers for like a week out of every month, because hormones make weight do insane things. I have seen fluctuations as high as like 7-9lbs (thankfully 3-5lbs fluctuations are more normal for me these days). 

[Renate]

1 hour ago, Rurik Harrgath said:

I'm strangely okay with hooking people on seasonings ?

 

Awww yeah, thanks for reminding me. I got hooked on seasonings in February when I started using them instead of sauces for salads. Yum!

 

Part of my challenge is to cut up veggies while I am having my breakfast, and I did so todat and it was great for my compliance, too.

[Xena]

23 hours ago, Xena said:

I'm in. Need to weigh myself still.

 

I tried this morning but the scale apparently didn't feel like waking up. Will see if I can convince it ?

 

[Renate]

I started weighing myself even though I was mid-shark week, just to compare. 

 

My battle plan btw is:

 

*to get as much movement in is I can, I started hopping up on the stationary bike again this week. 2 weeks before I was pretty consistent about my kettlebell workouts. And to just remain moving. When I cannot concentrate and am home, I can go take care of my skin or something or clean. Just keep that mind set. Will also help with electronics fiddling when I cannot get myself to do something qualitative and mindful on my phone, like listen to a podcast.

 

* To prep lots of freggies in the morning (I think I said this) while eating my breakfast.

I did this yesterday but I did not actually eat them all. Did snack on them which is a win ;D

 

I need to get myself past the freggie prep hurdle, I always overestimate how much effort it is when I am procrastinating...

 

* Apply my cravings protocol as tested per last challenge.

 

*DRINK. WATER! ?

 

And I guess I am sort of trying to not eat past 1900 (bc I usually get hangry if I don't eat properly in the morning, and I have been back on my teenage BS of not being able to stomache anything "heavier" (that is what I call it) than a bit of yoghurt and maybe some fruit or half a croissant as Breakfast no. 1, so there is always Second Breakfast, and lunch is a nice break, and then you cannot ALSO have a late dinner and then also heavy snacks  Well, not if your tummy needs gut rest like mine to not mope. )

 

but I am not noting that as part of the battle plan, since I always find ways around it when I am focusing on that time stamp. We'll see how far this will get me in the next few weeks...

[Rookie]

Hey everyone! I would love to join in  maybe some extra accountability is just what I need!

 

I am going to aim for 10lbs.

 

Current weight is 255.6lbs

Overall goal weight is 200lbs

 

I have been trying to lose weight forever and I seem to get to 245lbs and then my old habits take over and back up I go and I sit at 250-255lbs.  I want to lose weight because I think my body can't handle being this size forever before it breaks down and that would kind of suck. I like having knees. And I would be lying if I said it wasn't a little bit for vanity. I am getting married probably 2022 or 2023 and I would love to be able to do the whole dress shopping thing not at my current size because I actually want to try things on. 

 

The plan is the same as usual...

> Drink my water

> Move my body (more walking and get consistent with my KB workout)

> Don't be a glutton / snack squirrel

[Harriet]

13 hours ago, Xena said:

 

I tried this morning but the scale apparently didn't feel like waking up. Will see if I can convince it ?

 

 

Why does your scale require coaxing and encouragement? Usually they're all too eager to pronounce mass.

 

16 minutes ago, Rookie said:

I like having knees.

 

Me too! Now is better than later for this, I think.

 

16 minutes ago, Rookie said:

And I would be lying if I said it wasn't a little bit for vanity. I am getting married probably 2022 or 2023 and I would love to be able to do the whole dress shopping thing not at my current size because I actually want to try things on.

Wonderful! Good luck with the process!

[Rurik Harrgath]

5 hours ago, Rookie said:

I like having knees. And I would be lying if I said it wasn't a little bit for vanity. 

 

Vanity is a powerful motivator, and it is for me too, but one mindset shift I'm working toward is less 'this is what I want to look like' and more 'what capabilities do I want/need to have?'  Since I approach a lot of my healthy lifestyle goals from a video game character perspective, I know form is a result of function, so if Rurik the Cyberpunk Outrider needs to cover long distances, I should be climbing and rucking or running.  He's good in combat, so keep up my Muay Thai workouts with kettlebells and agility to support that.

 

Where this all comes together, and the biggest struggle I have to date, is eating to support those goals.  I know climbing and running, even Muay Thai, are easier toward my natural weight, then I need to be making nutritional choices which help my crawl towards that.  So the question I've been trying to ask myself lately is, will what I'm about to stuff in my mouth help realize my goals?  Or will it push them a further week, month, year away?  Is this a health potion, or poison?

 

And it helps more often than not, but it's definitely a work in progress.   

[Shello]

31 minutes ago, Rurik Harrgath said:

Or will it push them a further week, month, year away? 

This seems particularly useful.  I can be aware that something I'm about to eat is not in line with my weight loss goals, but it may not be enough for me to care.  But pushing that goal out another week or month can be powerful.  

[Harriet]

Wheee! Today I am under 70kg for the first time in more than a year, since I decided to quit the struggle with unsuccessful stupid diets and go down the """"intuitive"""" eating path. (I never was able to eat intuitively. I can do the "eat when hungry" bit but not the other bits.) That's 5kg down from my top weight, yay! I'm still technically overweight, though.

I think I have decided to devote 200 cal to treats every day (mostly chocolate, sometimes wine). But they should be after dinner only. No daytime chocolate-seeking. Chocolate chocolate chocolate. I like it better now than when I allowed myself to have as much as I wanted. Hmmm. Is moderation the path to increased pleasure and happiness?

[Rookie]

1 hour ago, Rurik Harrgath said:

Vanity is a powerful motivator, and it is for me too, but one mindset shift I'm working toward is less 'this is what I want to look like' and more 'what capabilities do I want/need to have?'  Since I approach a lot of my healthy lifestyle goals from a video game character perspective, I know form is a result of function, so if Rurik the Cyberpunk Outrider needs to cover long distances, I should be climbing and rucking or running.  He's good in combat, so keep up my Muay Thai workouts with kettlebells and agility to support that.

I am starting to try and make that mindset shift. I find vanity a good motivator (and having a wedding in the future really increases that) but its also not an awesome one for me because even though I might want to change I am still quite confident in my body and happy overall. My size doesn't really effect me aside from sometimes making clothes hard to find or not being able to pull off a certain look.  I am large but functional  BUT I need that mindset shift because although I might be alright with my weight now while I can still do the stuff I want to do.... I might not always be able to do those things and it will most likely be because of the wear and tear of being 50-75lbs overweight.  I want to future proof my body! So I can keep doing those things well into my golden years. I want to be a bad assed 90 year old granny galloping through the forest on my horse, jumping jumps and shooting arrows. I want to be in better shape then than I am now. 

 

1 hour ago, Rurik Harrgath said:

Where this all comes together, and the biggest struggle I have to date, is eating to support those goals.  I know climbing and running, even Muay Thai, are easier toward my natural weight, then I need to be making nutritional choices which help my crawl towards that.  So the question I've been trying to ask myself lately is, will what I'm about to stuff in my mouth help realize my goals?  Or will it push them a further week, month, year away?  Is this a health potion, or poison?

Its all a huge connected circle isn't it? I lose weight the best when my diet is on point (and I am sure that is the experience for everyone lol its easier to just not eat that extra 200 calories worth of something then to go burn 200 calories.) I find the exercising helps keep my eating on track. I need both working together. Working out gives me a boost to willpower, makes me have tired happy brain and curbs my appetite. So I am trying to do both imperfectly right now. 

 

1 hour ago, Rurik Harrgath said:

And it helps more often than not, but it's definitely a work in progress.   

Always a work in progress. 

[Rookie]

32 minutes ago, Harriet said:

Hmmm. Is moderation the path to increased pleasure and happiness?

I think you might be onto something.

[Renate]

1 hour ago, Harriet said:

Hmmm. Is moderation the path to increased pleasure and happiness?

Definitely onto something. I ate a cinnamon bun today in 2 pieces (one half with yoghurt this morning and the other for dessert) and I have never enjoyed it more ?

[Xena]

11 hours ago, Harriet said:

Why does your scale require coaxing and encouragement? Usually they're all too eager to pronounce mass.

 

A little unclear. It was stubborn a couple weeks ago and needed a new battery. I changed it and got it to work again. It seems weird that it's stubbornly unwilling to turn on again. My guess is that the battery isn't seated quite right or that there's something wrong with the electronics. I should stop messing around online and go investigate.

...I promise I will do so tonight!!!!

[Shello]

I planned to just coast through week zero and not focus on weight loss.  I've now had my 2nd zero week dinner consisting of pizza.  I need to do a little more 'coasting' and a little less 'off the rails'.  

[Rurik Harrgath]

23 hours ago, Athena said:

Definitely onto something. I ate a cinnamon bun today in 2 pieces (one half with yoghurt this morning and the other for dessert) and I have never enjoyed it more ?

 

Moderation actually helps me enjoy things more on occasion.  I have a major weakness for cinnamon buns with cream cheese frosting so when I finally have another one, it's going to be divine (and savored).

 

17 hours ago, Xena said:

My guess is that the battery isn't seated quite right or that there's something wrong with the electronics. I should stop messing around online and go investigate.

 

My food scale is a little goofy like that.  I think when I washed it, some water got into the battery compartment or something but since I allowed it to dry and replaced the battery, all has been well, so.... *fingers crossed*

 

3 hours ago, Shello said:

I planned to just coast through week zero and not focus on weight loss.  I've now had my 2nd zero week dinner consisting of pizza.  I need to do a little more 'coasting' and a little less 'off the rails'.  

 

Try the moderation approach we were talking about!  I try fill up on my veggies first and then I can enjoy a couple slices guilt-free without worrying I'm going to eat the whole thing after haha

[Aquarii]

23 minutes ago, Rurik Harrgath said:

My food scale is a little goofy like that.  I think when I washed it, some water got into the battery compartment or something but since I allowed it to dry and replaced the battery, all has been well, so.... *fingers crossed*

 

Speaking of food scales, for those of you who own them or have owned them in the past, what are your all’s thoughts? I have been on the fence about purchasing one lately. I know they are not very expensive, but are they worth the extra time and effort to use? Do you use yours often? Has it made a significant difference?

[Shello]

9 minutes ago, Aquarii said:

 

Speaking of food scales, for those of you who own them or have owned them in the past, what are your all’s thoughts? I have been on the fence about purchasing one lately. I know they are not very expensive, but are they worth the extra time and effort to use? Do you use yours often? Has it made a significant difference?

I use mine often.  I use it for things that are hard to eyeball - I pack baked chips for lunch and I weight it to stick to the portion size.  It's so easy to go over.  I also use it when I cook multiple serving foods that are hard measure so I can log accurately.  I measure the entire batch once it's done so I can determine how many servings.  Then I can log a single serving and not have to guess.  

[Rurik Harrgath]

2 hours ago, Aquarii said:

Speaking of food scales, for those of you who own them or have owned them in the past, what are your all’s thoughts? I have been on the fence about purchasing one lately. I know they are not very expensive, but are they worth the extra time and effort to use? Do you use yours often? Has it made a significant difference?

 

Mine has been a game-changer because I've been eyeballing peanut butter to the tune of 50-100% undervaluing for years.  When I found out how tiny 1tbsp actually is, my mind was blown.  It adds a minute to prep but chances are I'd be doing something else anyway so it doesn't add much time overall really.  At least I know I'm not accidentally eating my deficit up throughout the day!

 

I weigh everything, every single meal.  It's just another system in place by now.

[Harriet]

27 minutes ago, Aquarii said:

Speaking of food scales, for those of you who own them or have owned them in the past, what are your all’s thoughts? I have been on the fence about purchasing one lately. I know they are not very expensive, but are they worth the extra time and effort to use? Do you use yours often? Has it made a significant difference?

 

I use it all the time because I cannot be trusted to guess amounts. It gives me peace of mind knowing my calorie count for the day is probably reasonably accurate and I'm not wasting my time. ETA it takes a little time, but not much. Just a few more seconds.

[Tateman]

Hey all, would it be cool for me to join up in this too? Have been planning to get my challenge thread going soon. I will for sure be working on weight loss

 

13 hours ago, Rurik Harrgath said:

 

Mine has been a game-changer because I've been eyeballing peanut butter to the tune of 50-100% undervaluing for years.  When I found out how tiny 1tbsp actually is, my mind was blown.  It adds a minute to prep but chances are I'd be doing something else anyway so it doesn't add much time overall really.  At least I know I'm not accidentally eating my deficit up throughout the day!

 

I weigh everything, every single meal.  It's just another system in place by now.

 

13 hours ago, Harriet said:

 

I use it all the time because I cannot be trusted to guess amounts. It gives me peace of mind knowing my calorie count for the day is probably reasonably accurate and I'm not wasting my time. ETA it takes a little time, but not much. Just a few more seconds.

 

Same, I use my scale all the time too. At least when I am tracking. I remember back in the day being shocked at how much an actual serving size was haha.

 

[Harriet]

I switched from four tiny meals to three bigger ones and I feel better. With four tiny meals I was slightly unsatisfied all day, and now I am full and hungry in turns, as it should be. I also have ample calories for 22g of chocolate after dinner. It requires a little self control to not eat the chocolate before dinner (I seem to want it after meals, or during my afternoon lull). But I'm sure it will become easy with practice. It feels pretty nice to be eating chocolate on a diet and still be losing weight ? I'm never going back to the maximum-punishment-and-control diet. Hopefully I'm never going back to the eat-everything-I-want-immediately-and-always diet, either.

[Xena]

On 3/26/2021 at 12:32 PM, Aquarii said:

 

Speaking of food scales, for those of you who own them or have owned them in the past, what are your all’s thoughts? I have been on the fence about purchasing one lately. I know they are not very expensive, but are they worth the extra time and effort to use? Do you use yours often? Has it made a significant difference?

 

I use it all the time too. When counting calories I weigh lots of things. Even when not counting calories, I weigh out pasta and [I know this is weird] alcohol. If I want to have a glass of wine, I actually weigh out 5 oz (sometimes cutting it down to 3 oz if I'm really watching calories).

 

[Rurik Harrgath]

10 hours ago, Tateman said:

Hey all, would it be cool for me to join up in this too? Have been planning to get my challenge thread going soon. I will for sure be working on weight loss

 

Absolutely!  Jump in whenever you're ready  

 

3 hours ago, Harriet said:

I switched from four tiny meals to three bigger ones and I feel better. With four tiny meals I was slightly unsatisfied all day, and now I am full and hungry in turns, as it should be. I also have ample calories for 22g of chocolate after dinner. It requires a little self control to not eat the chocolate before dinner (I seem to want it after meals, or during my afternoon lull). But I'm sure it will become easy with practice. It feels pretty nice to be eating chocolate on a diet and still be losing weight ? I'm never going back to the maximum-punishment-and-control diet. Hopefully I'm never going back to the eat-everything-I-want-immediately-and-always diet, either.

 

Intermittent Fasting is like a cheat code for me.  I'll only have a small bowl of carrots mid-afternoon and then eat between 4-5pm, dinner around 7:30, and whatever macros are left go into my bedtime protein cookies around 9pm so I always have a treat and spend the rest of my evening with a full belly.  It came down to analyzing when I was committing the bulk of my 'sins' and having to develop a strategy to defeat the dreaded Evening Snack monster.  I know I can stay busy throughout the day and barely notice being hungry until later (with some practice and acclimating) to leave me more volume to consume in the evening.

 

Including chocolate ?

[Harriet]

44 minutes ago, Rurik Harrgath said:

Intermittent Fasting is like a cheat code for me.  I'll only have a small bowl of carrots mid-afternoon and then eat between 4-5pm, dinner around 7:30, and whatever macros are left go into my bedtime protein cookies around 9pm so I always have a treat and spend the rest of my evening with a full belly.  It came down to analyzing when I was committing the bulk of my 'sins' and having to develop a strategy to defeat the dreaded Evening Snack monster.  I know I can stay busy throughout the day and barely notice being hungry until later (with some practice and acclimating) to leave me more volume to consume in the evening.

 

Including chocolate ?

Sounds like you did some proper problem solving and found what works for you, which is great. I tried fasting and hated it--couldn't even go a whole day. I was hungry enough to murder. I guess we all have to figure out what works for us. And I'm glad we all still eat chocolate ?

[Rurik Harrgath]

4 hours ago, Harriet said:

Sounds like you did some proper problem solving and found what works for you, which is great. I tried fasting and hated it--couldn't even go a whole day. I was hungry enough to murder. I guess we all have to figure out what works for us. And I'm glad we all still eat chocolate ?

 

And you hit the nail on the head, it's proper problem solving.  While IF works best for me, for other folks it's gonna be 3 solid meals, or 6 small meals througout the day, or whatever routine works best for your lifestyle and goals.  But taking the time to figure that out without wringing your hands in failure is where you'll start to see any success.