Weight Loss Accountability/Support Group Thread

CallMeKate

CallMeKate

Well-known Member
Location
Mid-Atlantic US
Hey Everyone! I've been talking with @Alligatorob and @OneEyedDiva about a forum support group for weight loss accountability. Still a work in progress, but hopefully a thread like this that we can keep going will work. If not, we're open to a multi-recipient PM group. And if you need one-on-one accountability or someone to talk with about struggles, etc. I'm fine with giving my email (privately in PM though.)

WHAT IT IS: A place for support and accountability. Whether you share actual stats or not is a personal choice. A safe place to share both successes and disappointments that will (hopefully!) be free of judgment. Not everyone chooses the same path for weight loss or fitness. It can also be used as a kind of daily food diary if that's what you wish to do.

WHAT IT IS NOT: Not a place for generalized weight loss advice because there are already a number of excellent threads that have that covered. Not a place for shaming others' choices. (Although Rob talked me out having a dinner of only ice cream yesterday and I'm extremely grateful!)

I'll start. My goal is to shed 18-20 pounds... maybe 3 or so more as a cushion when I hit goal. Mini goal would be 12 pounds less by Christmas and 18 less by Valentine's Day. I will be counting calories and watching sodium and fat. I am not going to count carbs at least in the beginning, although I'll stay mindful of them. I don't do things like My Fitness Pal because there's no way I'd have the discipline to enter everything I eat.

Hoping for success for everyone, one pound or inch at a time! (y)
 

Count me in!
I’d like to lose 20 pounds by Christmas. That’s 4 pounds a month for 5 months.it’s doable.
I’ll log in my exercise and possibly food eaten for the day, along with what beverages I’ve consumed and how I’m feeling.

This is actually what I asked AlligatorRob about in his other thread asking about ‘Noom.’ I just didn’t wish to run or moderate such a thread so deleted my post. Lol

I think it’s a fabulous idea. It’s a proven fact that people do better when there’s accountability and when they start sharing their weight loss battle plan with others therefore I look forward to sharing my joys and struggles on this journey.
 
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PeppermintPatty said:
I think it’s a fabulous idea. It’s a proven fact that people do better when there’s accountability and when they start sharing their weight loss battle plan with others therefore I look forward to sharing my joys and struggles on this journey.
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Welcome @PeppermintPatty ! Sounds as if you have a good solid plan and goals! Hoping the thread works, but if it runs off track, we'll do something about a PM group.
 

CallMeKate said:
Welcome @PeppermintPatty ! Sounds as if you have a good solid plan and goals! Hoping the thread works, but if it runs off track, we'll do something about a PM group.
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For myself right now, I’d do much better sharing my exercise routine , foods eaten as well as the liquids I’m consuming. It makes me far more ACCOUNTABLE which then turns into FOCUSED discipline.

I DO think a thread would work.
Maybe we could have a separate thread for logging in our food and exercise and another thread, like this for discussing stuff .

That will make it easier for us to keep track of our loggable accomplishments
 
Okay, I hope everyone had a successful day! I did! I had my last food for the day about an hour ago. I figured since this is our accountable/log group and I started it, I can't very well mess up on the first day!

My food today: Breakfast was a croissant and coffee. Lunch was a few fish sticks and about 3 tbsp of mac and cheese that had been leftever. Dinner was salmon and a baked potato. I have to say that it feels really good to have not even *wanted* anything extra.

I didn't mention this morning that my calorie goal is 1200 but I'll try for 1100 the days I can do it. Yes, doc knows and says it's fine as long as I remain feeling good.
 
CallMeKate said:
I believe that would get unnecessarily confusing so I'll be logging right here... that's the accountability I need.
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Ok I’ll do it here also then.
Morning - fresh coffee with 1/2 tsp. honey, splash of canned evaporated milk

2/3 cup whole rolled oats, a tbsp. of raisins, sprinkle of cinnamon, 1/4 cup evaporated milk

1/2 litre PC Strawberry Mist with natural flavour & stevia ( not too sweet )

Late Lunch
- salad with lettuce, cucumber, radishes, red onion, tomatoes & avocado with Renee’s Dijon Mustard & Honey dressing

- BQ’ed small pork loin
- 1/2 cup cooked rice

1/2 litre strawberry mist
- multiple vitamin with cordyceps mushroom caps

1/2 litre strawberry mist


Later I shall log in my exercises - 30 minutes walking
 
Did everyone do well yesterday? I'm a little worried about today because pizza's been suggested/requested for dinner, but I'll deal with it. And I know if I'm tempted to go overboard I can now come here and get some inspiration (or get scolded! hehe.)

I'm down a pound and a half from Friday... four days, so I guess that's not so bad.

Do you do your walking every day, Patty? My main form of exercise is the treadmill but I had a traumatic knee injury months ago and haven't been cleared to start it up again... or do much of anything that could put strain on it, actually.
 
Coffee with 1/2 tsp honey and 1 tbsp evaporated milk

Raspberry Mist - 1/2 litter

Large salad with onions, avocado, cucumber, radishes, tomatoes, olives, a few hot peppers
And Dijon Mustard dressing

3 hard boiled eggs - 3 rice cakes

Strawberry Mist 1/2 litre
Raspberry Mist - 1/2 litre

Vitamins

Did 3 kilometre walk
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CallMeKate said:
Do you do your walking every day, Patty? My main form of exercise is the treadmill but I had a traumatic knee injury months ago and haven't been cleared to start it up again... or do much of anything that could put strain on it, actually.
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Yes I walk everyday. I’ve got dogs to take care of and they require daily walks. I’m going to add some light weight lifting shortly. I have a nice indoor treadmill for when it too wet to go out. Of course I prefer to walk outside.
 
I would like to be part of the group also, @CallMeKate . I have been doing intermittent fasting , with real foods and focusing on low carb foods, like veggies and salads, healthy fats, and moderate proteins.
I am doing one main meal, and a salad if I am hungry later, but the fasting and low carb helps with not craving food as much.
For the last week or so, I have had a terrible bout of arthritis in my foot, so walking and any kind of exercise has been out of the question. I went to the doctor today and he gave me some gout meds and sent me for bloodwork because my liver enzymes are sky high.

Once the foot gets walkable again, I will be back to swimming at the fitness center and water exercises, which helps me with not having food cravings, which have been worse because of feeling so miserable with the swollen and inflamed foot. Sitting around and not able to walk or do anything makes me want comfort food, I guess, and I am going to be glad to get back on track again.

I like the “Lose It” app for logging food, exercise and fasting; but still want to have a support group where I can check in.
 
Happyflowerlady said:
I would like to be part of the group also, @CallMeKate . I have been doing intermittent fasting , with real foods and focusing on low carb foods, like veggies and salads, healthy fats, and moderate proteins.
I am doing one main meal, and a salad if I am hungry later, but the fasting and low carb helps with not craving food as much.
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Very glad to have you join us, @Happyflowerlady ! We're still trying to figure out how best to make it work, so if you have thoughts on that, please feel free to voice them. Sounds as if you have a good plan, and I'm sorry to hear about the arthritis. :(

I've thought about checking Lose It out, but I'm awful with apps, so I'm thinking I'd fail at keeping up with that. I'm trying to get to the one main meal a day point, but so far it's totally nauseated me when I try it... but I'll not give up. Is your IF like 16/8? I've tried 15/9 after reading that some women do better on the 15... time will tell.

Anyhow, please use the group however you wish... support, food logging, exercise log, etc.
 
What i do (when everything is going right) is have a cup of coffee in the morning (cream only) and then off to the fitness center and swim for an hour.
When we get home, I make a nice meal with lots of veggies or just a big salad if the weather is hot. As long as i stay away from the simple carbs and only have ones like beans and veggies that take a while to digest, then I am usually fine with just that meal; but if not, then I make a little salad or some veggies early in the evening, and then I am done for the day.
So, I am fasting for 16-20 hours most days, plus the exercise.

Jason Fung has an excellent book called “the Obesity Code” that explains the role of insulin resistance, and how insulin is the fat-storing hormone.
Every time we eat anything, our body produces some insulin, and then the body is signaled to store any glucose as fat. All carbs and some protein turn to glucose once they are digested.
If we have insulin resistance, then our body can produce 4-5 times as much insulin than a person who does not have insulin resistance, making us store even more fat.

So, after reading books about insulin resistance and autophagy, it seemed to me like eating only once would lessen the amount of times my body releases the fat-storing hormone.
So…. Here i am with the intermittent fasting.
 
Today's report from me. I hope you've all been more successful.
Calorie-wise... total was 1550. I hate when I do that because I like staying around 1200 but I had Boom Boom Chicken for dinner and simply had too much of it.
Emotional... Nasty day emotionally because it was very rainy and humid meaning the knee injury was on a tear. It seriously pulled me down... I was told in late January when it happened that full recovery would be 4 to 12 months for that kind of severe blow. I didn't believe it. But today I realized it's only been 6. 😢
Exercise... Just the normal everyday walking because re-injuring at this point would be too much to bear.
 
The Lose It app has a free version, which has almost everything necessary in it. If you want more in-depth information and charting fasting, then they have a deluxe version, and will usually offer it for half price if you do not buy the full price version.
I hate writing down all of that stuff and could NEVER keep a food diary, but it is easier for me to do with the app. You can make recipes for foods you eat a lot and then just list that like “my tuna salad” or whatever so you do not have to put in all of the ingredients every time you have the tuna salad. (Or whatever)
It helps me a lot when I do this, and is basically the same thing you would be doing by posting food here on the forum. Here is an idea of what the dashboard shows me for information, but it also tells me vitamins and minerals in the meals i eat, which are added to my Apple Health app each day.

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Happyflowerlady said:
Jason Fung has an excellent book called “the Obesity Code” that explains the role of insulin resistance, and how insulin is the fat-storing hormone.
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I have that book on my Kindle! I read through it when I first got it a few years ago, but I didn't really give it the focus or attention I should have. I'll have to dig it out again. Am I remembering he did a second book, too? Or maybe it's a cookbook. In any case, you've inspired me to read through it again and hopefully more carefully this time.
 
I miss being able to go for walks, which is something that I have done all of my life. Now, between the CHF and the balance issues, walking very far is just out for me, and I hate walking on the treadmill.
This is why swimming works so well for me. I love swimming as much as walking, and if I lose my balance in the water when doing exercises, I just go “Splash !” and nothing gets broken like it would if i lost my balance while walking.
We have a small pool in the back yard, but it is just large enough for water exercises and not swimming, so we have to go to the fitness center to swim.
 
Doing well today so far... and dinner is going to be a new recipe I found to use some of our garden bounty... namely red bell peppers and zucchini. There's also a little meat in it... and a wee little cheese, so I'm looking forward to it. Oh, and I also made a fresh cucumber salad.

I've been so busy all day with paperwork and paying bills & taxes that I didn't take time to have lunch... that's a good thing! The swimming sounds nice, @Happyflowerlady ... glad to hear it works well for you! How is your foot doing today?
 
Remy said:
I think this is a great idea.

I noted PeppermintPatty states her walk is about 1/2 hour. That's my basic goal. 40 minutes would probably be max. I don't need to power walk. I do think walking really helps.
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That’s my shortest walk which I do in between longer walks. Today I went on one of my longer walks. This walk was approximately 7 1/2 kilometres and it was great!

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Today I had coffee with 1/2 tsp honey and evaporated milk
1 litre of peach mist
Blackened Atlantic Salmon with salad
A multiple vitamin 2 mushroom caps
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Yesterday I had coffee, 3 bottles of flavoured water , a big salad , a small bag of potato chips and 1 cup of trail mix. ( not the wisest choice but it was good )

Yesterday I did no exercise at all. 😝
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