MAY WISH Goals - Monthly Thread

[Oneanne]

What is your favorite piece of clothing?

First off, this isn't me. This is Sonya Phillips who self taught herself how to draft patterns and then created a series of sewing patterns and did a fashion/social experiment called 100 Acts of Sewing. Today I'm wearing almost the same outfit, aka The Uniform, only difference is that my top is blue and my scarf/shawl is blue floral. This is her Dress #3 pattern - I have four of them that I wear in regular rotation and this weekend I'll be sewing up a couple more, because I love them. And they actually fit. And they are quick and easy to put together, always a criteria for me.



And oh, I have a late breaking woohoo... we're shuffling desks around in the office on Monday, and I'll no longer have my boss sitting behind me. He's promised that this time I can have the desk furthest back in the pod... this is a huge thing with me as its bad feng shui to have people behind you. <insert happy dance here>

Once again no huge plans for the weekend, except spending some time with these crazy kids early tomorrow.



Really early, since being on the US west coast the coverage starts around 1am and the actual ceremony is around 5am. We visited Windsor when I went to London seven or so years ago, so it's been a lot of fun seeing pictures and knowing I've actually been there. Other than that, as already mentioned there will be sewing, as I'm starting to get ready for the June trip to Alaska.

Happy Weekend everyone!

 

[piglet1979]

I am so excited I am down 2.4 pounds as of this morning. I was not expecting to have lost more weight since yesterday since I eat kind of crappy but I am down .6 pounds since yesterday morning. Yay! about 2.5 more pounds to hit my goal and like 2 weeks to do it. I think i can hit it.

 

[Arazia]

My favorite piece of clothing is actually a t-shirt by 'The Mountain' with werewolves on it. For a time, they had one of my favorite artists as one of their guest artists, so I have a few t-shirts with her designs on them. Unfortunately, she doesn't work with them anymore.

 

[HappyGrape]

my favorite dress is the one I am wearing in the profile pic . I feel nearly ready to let go

 

[HappyGrape]

Phit and phat quotes
loosing weight is a lot more with how you think, then how many times a day you eat. So true!

 

[Helvetica]

I broke 110 pounds lost today! I’m only 5.8 pounds away from losing 40% of my original body weight and 9.8 pounds away from my next goal of 170. I may have to stop there.

 

[HappyGrape]

OMG, what amazing weight loss! Well done @Helvetica I always ask our big transformations - your quick 3 top tips? What kept you going, how did you deal with thought days and what is the one big thing that you will recommend to all?

 

[Arazia]

Congratulations Helvetica! That's some amazing weight loss.

I did my Sunday weigh-in today and actually seemed to have lost a lot more than I expected to. It's like the weight loss I wasn't getting the last two weeks caught up this week, though I don't know that I did anything particularly different. In any case, I'm down 4.4lbs from last week. I'm still uncertain if I'll make my May goal, but I'm trying to remain hopeful.

 

[glss1/2fll]

Way to go on the loss Helvetica! And everyone else, too!

I actually lost a pound this week, which is good because it and a friend were picked up a couple weeks ago! Nice to be heading in the right direction again. Hoping I'll be back to where I was this week. I've realized that on the old scale I'm where I had planned to be this time of year (1.5 months until I'm off for summer). With the new scale I've got some work to do! Hoping that I'll be there by summer's end. Then off to the next goal!

It's interesting you ask about favorite piece of clothing. I don't have one. I am so incredibly boring. I was thinking about my clothes just last week. My tops are almost all either long sleeve or short sleeve single color t-shirts. Either slacks or capris depending on the season. I've got to do some updating!! Such a shame I despise shopping. I do have some multi-colored skirts and sleeveless dresses. Need a little something to cover the shoulders. Then I would wear them!

 

[HappyGrape]

I am exactly same weight as the beginning of the month. I have nobody to blame but me deciding not to forget about it all on our weekend away

 

[HappyGrape]

Great news - my DH have his 3 year scans done and it's all good!

On not so great news I have talked before about my local slimming club. The leader left. He have lost weight and regained it once before and I don't really like everything that the slimming club preaches but I do like him personally a lot and he has been very strong influence in my maintenance mindset. I feel really sad and little nervous about it ...

 

[lovesmurfs]

Motivation Monday! Post something about what motivates you. This can be a picture, meme, quote, or something personal.

 

[Oneanne]

I broke 110 pounds lost today! I’m only 5.8 pounds away from losing 40% of my original body weight and 9.8 pounds away from my next goal of 170. I may have to stop there.

Woohoo! Congratulations!

 

[Helvetica]

amg, what amazing weight loss! WEll done helvetica! I always ask our big transformations - your quick 3 top tips? What kept you going, how did you deal with thought days and what is the one big thing that you will recommend to all?

What kept me going? I’m not entirely sure, but I’m very competitive and whenever I set out a goal I’m determined to accomplish it. I made a bit of a game of it and I'm continuously trying to beat my high score in terms of minimum calories in a day or miles walked in a day. For a while I was trying to see how many pounds in a week I could lose. I think I topped out at 3 pounds a week.

My mom dying of colon cancer was a pretty big wake up call too. That alone puts me at a bigger cancer risk and being obese just made the cancer risk worse. She wasn't really heavy, but it was certainly something on my mind. I also have members of my family who have diabetes (my cousin lost his foot) and that's something I really don't want to have to deal with as I get older. I'm only 33, but if I didn't change my ways now, it could be a major problem when I'm 43 or 53.

Knowing how I felt at 290 vs how I felt at each milestone really helped too. I was having lots of trouble sleeping and I was in pain off and on because of my weight. That's all gone now, so it helps me to keep going. Oddly enough, my seasonal allergies have gone away too. I didn't have them when I was young, but I certainly had them when I was 290. Now? Not so much.

Having a routine is also really helpful for me. So every day I log in what I eat and once a week I do a weigh in to see where I am. I'm trying to add a new routine of lifting light weights everyday, but that's been a little bit of a challenge for me, but I'm trying to add it and I will add it eventually.

One big thing: Find what works for you. What works for me may not work for you and what works for you may not work for me. We're all different. I really enjoy theme parks, so I got a season pass to Six Flags and I just walk around there at every opportunity that I get. I have found that what I eat has a much bigger impact on my ability to lose weight than working out and it's much easier for me to keep eating well as opposed to working out everyday. If I don't put it in my body, I don't have to burn it off. I also don't buy ice cream or chips or any other snack foods anymore. If it's not in my house, I can't eat it. I know that's not possible for everyone, but since I'm single it's pretty easy for me since I don't have to answer to a spouse, girlfriend or anyone else.


Three top tips:

1. It's a lifestyle change, not a diet. I've been losing for over a year, so I've framed this as a new lifestyle and not just a diet that I'm going to stop at some point in time. Creating new habits is very hard. I know that and all of the studies show that too. So I made a lot of small changes and I keep re-evaluating to see where I can improve and make new changes to help me towards my goal. I don't want to go back. I want to keep improving.
2. Learn as much as you can. Be it about what you're eating, about your family history / genetics or what's happening to your body when you do certain things. Before I started this, I didn't really realize what I was eating or how many calories certain things happen to be. Soda (specifically Surge and Dr Pepper) is my favorite vice, but I didn't realize how bad they were or how they don't really offer anything good for my body. I've also been amazed to see what otherwise "good" foods may not be so good. Who knew a salad could be 1000 calories or that ribs could be 1500? I also learned quite a few members of my family are dealing with diabetes and that my dad is pre-diabetic, so I'm much more careful about eating certain things. My mom died from colon cancer and other members of my family have had colon issues, so I'm trying to be more mindful about what I'm eating in the colon department and changing my diet accordingly. Like apparently brown rice is supposed to be good for the colon, so I'm eating that now instead of white rice. I also did some genetic testing (23 and Me) and according to that I'm genetically predisposed to weight 7% more than average and I'm more susceptible to saturated fat. Knowing that I have to work harder and stay away from my favorite food (steak) sucks, but it's good information to know. If it were up to me I'd eat a steak everyday, but chicken is fine. I guess.
3. It's a marathon, not a sprint. I didn't get to 290 in a day and I didn't get to 179.8 in a day either. It's been over a year. So even if you can lose "only" 1 pound a week, that's 52 pounds in a year. In 2 years that's 104 pounds. In 3 years that's 158. When you're heavier you can lose weight more rapidly and the same thing you did at 290 isn't going to give you the same results at 190. It's hard to see it for yourself sometimes because the changes are so gradual, but others will notice it. Especially if they haven't seen you in a while. My doctor didn't recognize me the last time I saw her because I lost so much weight and that was 46 pounds ago.

Another thing: I'd keep some clothes of yours of when you were at your heaviest. It's rather odd to wear something from 110 pounds ago, but it gives me a very good frame of reference of where I was to where I am now. Sometimes I accidentally put on my old shorts or my old coat and I'm really confused for a second, but it's a really great motivator that shows me in a physical way how far I've come. Another good frame of reference is a brick. Bricks are 5 pounds and each time you lose 5 pounds, you lose a brick from your body. I've lost 22 bricks so far.

 

[Oneanne]

This has me motived this morning.



I enjoyed the royal nuptial's so much I watched them twice... first time was live in the wee hours of the morn. I got up at 3am just at the end of arrivals for the 'regular' folks and the start of the royal arrivals. Second viewing was in the evening when our local PBS station was replaying the BBC coverage, and I got to see all the arrivals as well as interviews with the guests from the various charities. I'm not so much bought in to the 'fairy tale' aspect of it all, it was just lovely to watch love for a couple hours. With everything going on in the world, including another school shooting here in the US, it just seemed very powerful to be sending love out in to the universe. And it has motivated me to be more loving and inspired me with what is truly possible.

Plus it was such a lovely sunny day there, I feel like I had a mini vacation to the UK.

Now, back to work. Friday I left the office frustrated with my boss, who after telling me he was putting me in the back cube in fact put me in the middle cube again, with him behind me. Again. Seriously? If he hadn't said anything at all I wouldn't have thought twice about it... way to dangle the carrot and then yank it away. But after all the lovey-dovey inspiration over the weekend, I'm letting it go.

 

[Arazia]

For this week, I think my challenge is to make sure that my motivation comes from within. Between lingering health issues (more tests expected this Thursday) and hanging out with friends, it's been rough. It's hard to watch other people snacking and eating things you really want, and offering them to you multiple times despite you saying: I can't, I'm trying to lose weight.

Hardest part was last night where everyone in our group wanted to order Chinese, and I said: I'll just make myself some vegetable soup. They were all being very insistent on me having something with them and I made sure to stand my ground and just say "I'll eat with you, but I'm having soup. It's fine." I think because I see my friends only once a week or so, they think I'm depriving myself, but I'm not. I have treats and things when my calories/diet plan allow it and I don't particularly feel like I'm going without things I really want most of the time.

So I just have to keep reminding myself that my friends mean the best, but that my motivation to keep going has to come from me. I'm the only person that controls what I eat, and I have to stand firm in my choices.

 

[HappyGrape]

she is like disney princess @Oneanne ! She even have the evil siblings and more they try to bad mouth her - more everyone else loves her! I wish them the best

@Helvetica - you have done amazing! Sorry for your mum, my mum uncle and grandfather died from same cancer. I wouldn't consider low carb ever and one of the reasons is the medical research on high fibre being good prevention and a lot of processed red meat being bad. I love my wholegrain rice too

Motivation stuff

I bought dress 2013 and I repurchased same size down 2016 and I still fits. It's not always easy - but it's always worth it! I guess quoting phit and phat again, I am committed to my mistakes and I had to work at it and sometimes I feel the need to just figure it out. But if I have to keep at it forever, I will

Frankly most of the time I enjoy researching healthy eating, cooking and trying new things

 

[glss1/2fll]

Today's motivation is if I don't eat it I don't have to lose it. Seems like quite a few of us are thinking that! Having said that I did eat some junky food today, but it is still within my calories (whew!).

@Helvetica you're amazing!

@Arazia maybe if instead of telling your friends you're trying to lose weight you told them you are trying to make the absolute healthiest choice they wouldn't push so hard. Excellent job of standing your ground!

I liked the fairy tale wedding. I only watched the carriage ride, but it was just so nice to lose myself in the glorious weather and happiness of the day.

 

[HappyGrape]

I can't do intermittent fasting if I have to go in office. I work from home 2 days and in office 3. I get up at 5 am on days I go to office and by 11 it's long day. I won't set it in stone but if I am really hungry I will just eat breakfast on days like this

 

[lovesmurfs]

Hello, hello! So sorry I'm late today!

Topic Tuesday! What do you do to celebrate a win? How do you congratulate yourself when you've done a great job, or gotten to a weight loss goal, etc?

For me, it's been really hard to do. When I had a great day at the office doing a presentation, my first thought was that I wanted to celebrate with a Starbucks frappe or some sweet drink. I actually found myself planning it as I walked to the train station. Then I stopped (literally!) and said that I wasn't going to use my feeling positive to make me go off plan.

Since then, I've tried to figure out ways to celebrate - without food! Haven't come to a conclusion yet.