The Best Way to a New You Challenge!!!!

Hey All!!!  I've been a member of CC for a little over a year now, but I haven't always been a frequent user.  The last time I was on here was in Jan for my new year's resolution.  Well, that didn't last too long, but I have to say I want to continue my resolution starting today!!!  First of all, I wanted to share with you all that I have struggled with weight issues my whole life.  I have lost 30 pounds then put it back on and lost 40 pounds and so on.  There have been lots of ups and downs in my weight loss journey.  The sad thing is that each time I loose weight I end up putting on more weight then I lost.  I'm tired of this and I'm ready to make a lifestyle change and stop with the ups and downs on the scale.  If you are at this point in your life then please join this forum:)

The past three years, I have put on about 50 pounds!!!  I have finally reached a point where, I've had enough and I've decided to start a new chapter to my life.  This new chapter is my journey on loosing those 50 pounds and maintaining my that weight.  I am hoping that other people who want to loose at least 40 pounds will join in on this weight loss journey and we can share our weight loss successes, struggles, and just use this as another form of motivation for us:) At the end of every week, we can weigh in and share an exercise or diet tip with everyone else.  Currently, I am 5'4 and 193 pounds.  I started my diet/exercise last week where I started at 196 pounds.  This is most I have ever weighed in my whole life and quite frankly, I am embarrassed that I let myself go like this! My ultimate goal is to loose 50 pounds, but for now I want to set a smaller goal to loose 30 pounds by the end of August. Hopefully, I can loose 50 pounds by the end of December!

Anyways, I wanted to share with you what I have been doing to start my weight loss journey:

My goal is to work out at least 6 days a week.  Right now, I am taking a Zumba class 3x's per week (M, T, and Th).  Everyday, except Sunday, I take my dog for about a 1 1/2 mile  walk.  3 days a week I lift weights and ride a bike at the gym(M, W, and F).  On the days that I don't do Zumba (W and F) I use my elliptical.  So, in all I work out for a total of 2.5 - 3 hours a day during the week and the weekend are a little more relaxing!  As far as my diet goes, I am just watching what I'm eating and not on a particular diet plan.  I am allowing myself 1400 calories per day with one day a week where I can indulge on going out to eat...yum, yum:)

So, after that long explanation, I would love it if you would share your weight loss journey on this forum.  If you would like to then please share where you are now, what your goal is for your goal weight and goal for your exercise plan, and anything else that you would like to share about your plan:) I look forward to hearing about each one of your stories!!!  Let the journey begin!!!

Hi there! Your story is very similar to mine, long time CC member but infrequent user. Lots of weight ups and downs, although lately it's been more of a steady climb up! lol I'm ready to make a change, and have begun those changes as of today. Total emotional eater over here too!

Starting point: 30 yrs old. 5'6, 210.5lbs Goal: 150

After trying and failing on countless fads, my strategy this time with be gradual change. I'm starting at 1800 cals a day, planning on increasing healthy foods and slowly eliminating processed and refined items. Then I'll slowly cut down on cals with my ultimate goal being 1380. Same with exercise, I'm totally sedentary right now, so Iplan on building more movement into my day, and I have an elliptical I am going to use 3X a week for starters (increasing as I go)

It might take me longer to reach my goal this way, but in the past I always gave up after a furious start. Just call me a turtle, because slow and steady is going to win this :)

Looking forward to motivating and being motivated by all the great people on here.

Yay for you!!!  I'm excited to start this forum and see who else will join us:):) I'm glad that you shared your story and willing to help motivate me along the way!!   I think it's a great idea to add a little at a time that way it will be smaller changes, but in the end you will reach the same goal!

I am so in! I read your post and this is exactly what I've been doing and thinking. I've been yo-yo-ing for years. I've been on and off here forever. Now I'm looking to make this change permanent. 

Not because I should be healthy and look good. But this time, it's because I Want to! My goal is lose4 40 lbs and be under the 200lb mark.

Count me in too!

I have just started CC, But was working on my own before. I have spent the last 4 years taking care of my husband and stopped taking care of myself. He was a Fire Fighter who was hurt in the line of duty and I feel like a complete b*tch for even fussing about it, but everything has been about his recovery , I stopped work, I stopped going out, I stopped seeing friends,I stopped working out, and just ate to help me get through it all emotionally. It all came to a head when I realised that I was just buying bigger and bigger clothes. I am 5'3" and was wearing a size 3x and weighed 226 pounds. I got out of breath just taking the dog for a short walk. So at the beginning of the year I started to try and lose weight, I manged to get down to 194 on my own, but then the weight loss stopped, I needed to ramp it up, just cutting calories and going for short strolls wasn't working any more. I needed to start exercising too. So I started water arobics 3 days a week, and try to go to the gym on the other days. I also started CC, which I love! My husband has been kind of supportive, but says I spend to much time on "this damn diet" and I am just fine the way I am. I am glad that he thinks so but my doctor doesn't agree, so the 'damn diet", or as I like to call it, lifestyle improvment plan :) will continue. I am now down to 188.5 pounds, and my goal is 130 pounds. Hopefully my husband will realise that to look after him properly I need to look after me too.

@ Liliy Wow, to be able to loose that much weight already is great:)  Just keep it going girl!!!  I'm an emotional eater, too and it sucks, but now I'm trying to take control of my eating and be healthy once again.  We can do this together:):):)  I can't wait to see your posts in the weeks to come.

@ Yanes That's what I have found out with dieting is you have to be in it for yourself and want to do it completely.  Otherwise if your doing it for other reasons it usually doesn't work out the way you would like it to! It  sounds like you have a great goal and we can support for each other along the way!

I do not want to be the 'party pooper' but do I read it right and you work out between 2 to 3 hours a day and you eat 1200 calories, aren't you adding calories for the work outs? 

@soliwit  I  will add a couple hundred depending on the day and the workouts.  During the weekends, I don't workout as much so on those days I do go by the 1200 calories.  I just started counting my calories this week and I was going to gauge by how hungry I was, then add up my calories, and see how many calories I eat from there.  I am working out this much now because I don't work during the summers and this is my time to get in the extra workouts.  Once school starts up again, I won't have as much time.  So,  I'm taking advantage of having the extra time that I have.

Oh don't get me wrong, there is nothing wrong with the fact you are able to work out this much, good for you! I was just worried since you said you were eating 1200 calories that you were actually really under eating, you will burn quite some during the days you work out and so you really have to make sure you add in those calories to be sure to have enough to sustain your body

:)

@ soliwit  That is very true!  Thanks for the heads up and suggestion:)

@Lily Keep up the great work. I've fallen into the caregiver trap too, where you worry about everyone else and not yourself. The stronger you are the more you have to give.

P.S. Is that your pug in your user pic? I have 2. 

@ jchase13 Thanks for the support, unless you have been a caregiver I don't think you can truely understand what it is like to give yourself over to someone else completly.

 And yes that's my baby! Mac is about 18 months old  and the light of my life, I swear if I had had a pug 20 years ago I would never have had kids...lol.

@ Lilly1966  He really is so cute!  We have a black lab and I don't know what I would do without her.  It's funny how dogs can hold a special place in your heart:)  I've been trying to convince my hubby to get another dog either a pug or a bulldog.  I haven't had an luck yet, but I'm hopeful:)

When would you guys like to weigh in?  I'm thinking sometime before the weekend.  That's usually when I splurge a little more because of the things that go on during the weekend.  Let me know what you guys think:)

I usually weigh in on a Monday but I can switch to Fridays or whatever works for everyone else.

What about setting Fridays as our weigh in day? That works for me.

@Lilly, lol Mac is so cute, I doubt you'll be able to stop at one!

@Sugarr, take your hubby to a dog park. 5 mins with a pug and he'll be sold.

Ok, I think I'm starting to sound like a crazy obsessed pug lady, so I better get back to work.

Hope everyone is having a great day. Be good to yourselves, healthy choices.

Friday sounds like a great day to weigh in:)  Do we want to weigh in on our Forum here?  Maybe we should post our Starting Weight (SW), Goal Weight (GW), and Actual Weight (AW) every Friday?  Does that sound alright with everyone?  Well, I hope you all enjoy your day!!!  It's time for me to get ready for Zumba!!!

Hi all!

Okay, where to begin?! Maybe with the fact that I love CC and all of the wonderfully supportive people that use this website to encourage total strangers to become healthier versions of themselves. Seriously, is there a better corner of the internet to be part of?! It gives me the warm fuzzies, lol.

As for my weight issues... I'm sure it's a familiar tune to most -- overweight for most of my life, tried (and failed) at WW once in my later teens, declining participation in competitive sports led to an increase in weight, living abroad for a year and then roommate stress in grad school led to an even larger increase, and work stress in my first "real" job led to yet more (might as well tattoo "I eat my feelings" on my forehead!).

The one thing I can say is that I've never been a yo-yo or fad dieter. This isn't me bragging; this is me being honest about how weak I've been for the past decade. When I was on Weight Watchers, I lost 10 lbs in the first month, then fell off the wagon and gained back 20 lbs almost as quickly. Terrified that this could happen to me again and again if I tried to lose weight, I just... stopped trying. Instead, I just let my weight gradually creep up and up and UP. I was too afraid to try and fail. I especially didn't want my friends and family to know that I had tried (again) and failed (again). 

But on January 13, 2012 I had an epiphany of sorts -- I have succeeded at almost every other major goal that I have ever set for myself, so why was THIS goal any different? Suddenly change felt possible. So I joined CC and haven't looked back since. 

Where I've been & where I'm going:

Stats: Female, 5'5, dense bones, mostly sedentary

SW (13 Jan 2012): 215 lbs -- My heaviest.

Initial GW (13 Jan 2013): 165 lbs -- My initial goal was to lose 50 lbs over the course of a year. Once I'd met that goal, I planned to reassess and make a second, smaller goal to get me the rest of the way to the healthiest me I can be. 

CW (12 June 2012): 168 lbs!! -- Yesterday was my Month 5 weigh-in and I have lost 47 of the 50 lbs I initially wanted to lose. I am feeling AWESOME & hope to shed those last 3 lbs during Month 6. 

New GW (13 Jan 2013): 150 lbs -- As I get closer to my goal weight, progress is definitely slowing, so it's totally conceivable that it may take me the next 7 months to lose an additional 15 lbs. 

Exercise plan: I try to get in an hour of cardio 4-5 times a week. The elliptical is my favourite, but I've started to mix it up lately with running my local conservation trails and spin classes. Thankfully, soccer season has started again so once a week I get 90 mins of exercise that way. Thinking of testing the waters with weights, but haven't been brave enough yet.

I'm looking forward to taking the rest of my journey with you ladies & gentlemen! We can do it!! 

@catherine2pt0 47 lbs is an amazing number!!!  You are truly an inspiration for me:)  I love how you put it that, you accomplished everything else in your life and why not the weight issue!  That's such a great way of looking at it.  I never thought of it that way.  I mean if I can get my undergrad, be successful at my job, get married to my awesome hubby, and start my masters then I can do this weight thing!  Very well said:):)  Thanks for joining and I'm excited that you are apart of this challenge!!!

Hey Everyone!!!  Just stopping in to see how your week has been going so far...we're half way through the work week:):)   I have been looking on different forums throughout CC and reading some very interesting info.  One thing that I have never heard of and never really thought of is BMR.  I really am quite embarrassed that I never knew what it meant. I always thought that you could just go on a diet with "X" amount of calories and not take much of anything else into account, but I guess I was wrong!  I need to get this BMR figured out!