WEIGHT LOSS CHALLENGE - 7 Weeks-10#'s

[Flybye]

Grrrr. 132.0. Still. I've been eating clean, rode 53 miles on Saturday, mountainbiked 3 hours on Sunday, walked 5 miles with weights last night, starting working out my arms with weights, and nothing. Grrrr. *TMI warning* I got my period yesterday, so that might be why nothing moved. Grrrrr.
On the plus side, my tummy is getting flatter. I have to weigh myself fully-clothed on the shipping scale at work, so maybe I'm wearing heavier jeans today. I'll just keep on -- can't give up, I've got 6 weeks to go, and it's got to start moving in the right direction. Don't give up, don't give up...

I have heard that jeans can weigh up to 4 pounds. Whether or not that is the truth? Who knows! When I am up on the scales, I always blame the jeans! I really would bet that is the reason, plus the period puts on some weight, too. Are you going to weigh later in the week to see if there is a difference?
Keep on being good!

[Pedal Wench]

Yeah, I'll check it before the weigh-in next Monday. If I don't, I might be tempted to just give up.

My BF is coming to visit this weekend , and staying through the holidays, so I'm gonna have to be extra careful. Luckily, we've got long rides or hikes planned for each day, so I can balance all the good food we eat.

[Tuckervill]

Okay, after moving the scale around and trying to get the weighing conditions close to the baseline (no period, good food tracking, good exercise) I weighed this morning.

180.8.

If I play my cards right, I could be in the 170s by the end of the week!

Karen

[five one]

KG, the method used by my health care provider is called near infrared interactance. I think the results are somewhere between the "dunk tank" method (said to be the gold standard) and skin fold calipers in accuracy. I'm not really counting on it being all that accurate. I just wanted a baseline, so I'd know if I made any progress six months from now.

The technician fed the data I gave her regarding height, weight, and exercise frequency, time and intensity into the machine. Then a wand was placed on the bicep of my dominant arm which sends infrared light into the muscle. I haven't taken the time to research how this works. But the numbers I got back were:

Weight - 134 lbs
Height - 61"
Body fat - 24.4%
Fat weight - 33 lbs
Fat-free weight - 101 lbs

I'm just going to keep doing what I'm doing regarding eating as well as I can and exercising regularly through the winter and not think too much about these figures. I'd like to get down to 120 at some point. From a cycling standpoint, I think that would be a good weight for me based on my build. To do that, I'd probably have to lose a lot of fat while gaining more muscle.

Ultimately, the tape measure will tell me more than the number on the scale. At my age - 55 - post menopause, with a sedentary job and long commute, I'm not sure what is possible. I'm trying to look at this as a science project. I've never consciously tried to lose a substantial amount of weight before. I've only been cycling for five years. I know I weigh more now than I did five years ago, but I know that extra weight is muscle I never had before cycling. Whether I can carve off unwanted fat remains to be seen.

Sorry to ramble. I pobably didn't even answer your questions . You might try finding a place that uses a different method of calculating body comp and compare those to the figures you have with the calipers. But I wouldn't stress too much about it. You lost a good sum of weight and have kept it off. That's something to crow about.

[nonsmoker3]

Well said Steinspinne. I believe in the 80/20 rule. Be good 80% of the time and splurge a little 20% of the time. It keeps me sane.

I have been doing good with the eating portion, but just wasn't feeling the workout this morning. Ended up only running a mile (instead of 5), and then got on the dreadmill for some interval work for 20 minutes. I may try to squeeze in a run this afternoon. Just feeling blah.

[NoNo]

I was a very bad girl yesterday. Oh well, I've learned to make peace with those days. Now that I can finally walk normally after all those squats on Monday, tonight I plan on trying that workout again and maybe throwing the bike on the trainer. I'm also very excited that we got an eliptical in the small gym at work. I tried one last week for the first time and loved it, so I think a few days a week I'll work out here just to mix things up a bit. Chin up, ladies!

[firenze11]

I've been doing well, except for the horrible cold I've acquired. I haven't been able to relax/rest in bed and am doing my best at pushing fluids. In terms of eating I've been bad in the sense that the cold is making me nauseous and has reduced my appetite. So I'm trying to get good healthy food in but it's a struggle. At least it kept me from having to eat at McDonald's yesterday when I was on the road. I can't believe how nasty that stuff looked to me, I mostly stay away from it anyway but yesterday I was repulsed.

So great job to everyone doing so well and losing. And to everyone who's struggling, don't beat yourself up about a little mis-step. I agree wholeheartedly with steinspinne and nonsmoker3. We're not going for perfection here, a little treat here and there is what life is about, right? And bad habits take a bit of time to tame. Keep at it I know we can all do it.

[GLC1968]

I've had a couple of crazy days. I did a longer ride on Sunday and then did my 'half-commute' on Monday and Tuesday. Yesterday (Tues) I was hungry all day! I basically would eat something, and then 2 hours later, I was ravenous again. My only saving grace was that I'd brought a bunch of healthy foods (raw veggies, oat bars, etc), so that I no excuse to visit the snack machine. I know my calories are WAY high for yesterday, but it seemed to have worked. Today my appetite is back to normal.

Today I'm doing an off-bike workout, but I'm not sure which one. Step? Kickboxing? Bootcamp? Whatever it is, it will also include much needed (and unfortunately neglected) weight work.

[five one]

I've also been fighting a cold. First in years. My throat feels raw and scratchy, so I've been drinking a LOT of herbal tea with honey. Eating soup and comfort food. Weight is the same as Monday, so I can't complain since I've done nothing in the way of exercise since last Sunday and that was only a short easy ride. I look forward to getting back on track soon. Till then, I'm in maintenance mode.

[Pedal Wench]

Not sure it's even worth posting, but down 1 lb. Woohoo. I'll just keep trying, have a hard ride tonight, so maybe things will budge a little bit tomorrow, and aiming for a long, long ride on Sunday, so Monday should be really good.

[nonsmoker3]

Start - 147
11/12 - 145.5
11/15 - 145.5

I had a rough eating evening. Back on track today. Body pump this morning and going to squeeze a couple of miles in at lunch.

[NoNo]

Yesterday was so-so with the food, but I did 30 minutes of light riding on the bike and then another 30 minute exercise video full of more wonderful squats and lunges. Not hurting too much today and even remembered to bring my clothes to work so I could use the eliptical today. Back to my usual breakfast of oatmeal and I brought in a nice, big salad for lunch, with carrots and an apple for snacks. I also brought in the rest of my lasagna to feed the co-workers and get it out of my fridge. Of course, my boss stopped at Dunkin Donuts and brought in a box of Munchkins that he placed right next to my desk. I've had two, and I'm trying SO hard not to taste any more! Weight was up a little this morning, but my scale also lacks Caribou's monthly message. Perhaps you could market that

[ibcycling]

ROFL Caribou! That's so true.

I'm happy to report that my scale read 161.5 this morning. It does .5 increments but I'll take it! I've now lost over 20lbs since reaching my highest non-preg weight of 182 this spring. I love my bicycle!

Yesterday's food:
B - GoLean Crunch cereal
L - Beef enchiladas, chips & salsa (dh and I went to lunch at a new Mex place. so good and so bad!)
S - Dried apple chips, dark chocolate
D - 2 eggs, small dish spiced apples

Not really a great day and not near enough veggies and fruit! My goal for the rest of the challenge is to get those veggies in and drink enough water. I'm also feeling tired and have a bit of a headache. Not sure if I'm fighting off a cold or if I'm on a carb hangover. I am going to go riding this morning so I'd better get my tube switched out!

Hope everyone has a great day!