Awesome progress! I have about 20 lbs to lose, too. You have so much dedication! I'm hoping to get there myself. Good luck to you!
Get it together, girl
- Thread starter myleanbaby
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myleanbaby
New member
Hi again folks!
Been doing well and feeling good again this week, so not too much to report. Weight down again at my weekly weigh in, 136.6lbs, so that's 21.9lbs lost and 13.8% total body weight down! Feeling really solid with my routine, pre-making Huel for breakfast and lunch before I go to sleep, working out consistently at CrossFit 101 (beginners) class Monday and Wednesday and then doing either yoga or a hike on Friday or Saturday (or both). I have a cupboard at home and a drawer at work full on my 100-ish cal snacks, a mix of pre-portioned healthy (raw nuts, dried fruits, protein bars) and "I wanna snack!" (cheese crackers, Teddy Grahams, cookies) items so that I don't feel that I have to totally deprive myself, and feel like I can have some indulgence as long as it fits in the interval timing and my calorie goals.
I've also gotten really good at making Huel blends that I LOVE! My favorites are Chocolate Huel with PB2 (low cal powdered peanut butter) which tastes like a Reece's peanut butter cup but crazy healthy, Vanilla Huel with frozen strawberries (tastes like a McDonalds strawberry milkshake but also crazy healthy!), or a bright green Green Monster (Vanilla Huel with 2 cups spinach/greens, dash of cinnamon and real vanilla, and optional Matcha powder or replace water with green tea). I'm also going to be using it on my upcoming trip to Alaska. Since it's a powder and technically only needs water to make a nutritionally complete meal, it should be really convenient for backpacking without the extreme sodium and portion size (and packaging waste) of the freeze dried camping meals I usually take with me. Cannot really express how the convenience and ease of not having to stress over shopping, measure/portioning, prepping, chopping, cooking, measure/portioning, and then wash up pots, pans, utensils, portion bowls, etc etc etc, has helped me to really stick to my plan and keep it realistic and ACTUALLY doable with all the other draws on my time. I actually really enjoy cooking and trying new foods, but now I can do it more to enjoy it occasionally rather than constantly to try to make enough healthy food for every meal of the week and stressing myself out over it.
Also still loving (in fact maybe even more) my CrossFit classes! The biggest change I think I've noticed this week is with the overall tone of my body. I know it's also because I am slowly losing more and more of the fat that was covering up my body before, but I can start to feel toning in all kinds of places, from the expected places like outer thighs, upper arms, a little glutes, etc, to the unexpected places like forearms, back, obliques, etc. I'm starting to really see the advantage of all the movements that we do that work the whole body or at least major muscle groups in coordination with one another, as opposed to what I would probably do at the gym by myself by isolating individual muscles using different machines. Likewise, there is NO WAY I would push myself as hard or work out as hard in the gym by myself than I do with a group of others and a coach standing right next to me encouraging and correcting my form. The toughest workouts are the partner activities... for example one person has to row to 300 meters while the other person holds a plank with a weight on their back until the first person finishes their meters--I never rowed so hard in my life!
But it's really fun and I've even started to make friends, which for me is a real achievement in itself since I do have a lot of social anxiety and insecurities that normally get in my way.
I also bought a couple of items to help supplement the areas I have been struggling with in CrossFit, pull ups and (weirdly) jump roping. Who knew that an adult person could struggle so much with jumping rope!! I can't seem to do more than 2 or 3 turns overhead without getting caught on my feet or my hair or tripping on the rope so I thought I'd practice a bit in the privacy of my own home... Then with pull ups, I have discovered that I have absolutely no back/lat/pulling strength! Like, I can't lift myself even one inch, let alone get my chin anywhere near that bar. Luckily, CrossFit offers "scaling" options for every movement, so I've been trying jumping pull ups while standing on a stack of weights (embarrassing lol) or pull ups from a low bar or rings with my feet on the floor and my body at an angle so that I'm lifting part of my weight but not all. I bought a length of nylon webbing so that I can practice the body angle pull ups at home as well.
Anyway, I think that's all for today/this week. 34 more days until my goal weight date and two more weeks until my trip to Alaska, so next weekend I'll be packing and prepping everything because I fly after my last day at work that following week!! Hope everyone has a great weekend and a ton of successes!
Been doing well and feeling good again this week, so not too much to report. Weight down again at my weekly weigh in, 136.6lbs, so that's 21.9lbs lost and 13.8% total body weight down! Feeling really solid with my routine, pre-making Huel for breakfast and lunch before I go to sleep, working out consistently at CrossFit 101 (beginners) class Monday and Wednesday and then doing either yoga or a hike on Friday or Saturday (or both). I have a cupboard at home and a drawer at work full on my 100-ish cal snacks, a mix of pre-portioned healthy (raw nuts, dried fruits, protein bars) and "I wanna snack!" (cheese crackers, Teddy Grahams, cookies) items so that I don't feel that I have to totally deprive myself, and feel like I can have some indulgence as long as it fits in the interval timing and my calorie goals.
I've also gotten really good at making Huel blends that I LOVE! My favorites are Chocolate Huel with PB2 (low cal powdered peanut butter) which tastes like a Reece's peanut butter cup but crazy healthy, Vanilla Huel with frozen strawberries (tastes like a McDonalds strawberry milkshake but also crazy healthy!), or a bright green Green Monster (Vanilla Huel with 2 cups spinach/greens, dash of cinnamon and real vanilla, and optional Matcha powder or replace water with green tea). I'm also going to be using it on my upcoming trip to Alaska. Since it's a powder and technically only needs water to make a nutritionally complete meal, it should be really convenient for backpacking without the extreme sodium and portion size (and packaging waste) of the freeze dried camping meals I usually take with me. Cannot really express how the convenience and ease of not having to stress over shopping, measure/portioning, prepping, chopping, cooking, measure/portioning, and then wash up pots, pans, utensils, portion bowls, etc etc etc, has helped me to really stick to my plan and keep it realistic and ACTUALLY doable with all the other draws on my time. I actually really enjoy cooking and trying new foods, but now I can do it more to enjoy it occasionally rather than constantly to try to make enough healthy food for every meal of the week and stressing myself out over it.
Also still loving (in fact maybe even more) my CrossFit classes! The biggest change I think I've noticed this week is with the overall tone of my body. I know it's also because I am slowly losing more and more of the fat that was covering up my body before, but I can start to feel toning in all kinds of places, from the expected places like outer thighs, upper arms, a little glutes, etc, to the unexpected places like forearms, back, obliques, etc. I'm starting to really see the advantage of all the movements that we do that work the whole body or at least major muscle groups in coordination with one another, as opposed to what I would probably do at the gym by myself by isolating individual muscles using different machines. Likewise, there is NO WAY I would push myself as hard or work out as hard in the gym by myself than I do with a group of others and a coach standing right next to me encouraging and correcting my form. The toughest workouts are the partner activities... for example one person has to row to 300 meters while the other person holds a plank with a weight on their back until the first person finishes their meters--I never rowed so hard in my life!
But it's really fun and I've even started to make friends, which for me is a real achievement in itself since I do have a lot of social anxiety and insecurities that normally get in my way.I also bought a couple of items to help supplement the areas I have been struggling with in CrossFit, pull ups and (weirdly) jump roping. Who knew that an adult person could struggle so much with jumping rope!! I can't seem to do more than 2 or 3 turns overhead without getting caught on my feet or my hair or tripping on the rope so I thought I'd practice a bit in the privacy of my own home... Then with pull ups, I have discovered that I have absolutely no back/lat/pulling strength! Like, I can't lift myself even one inch, let alone get my chin anywhere near that bar. Luckily, CrossFit offers "scaling" options for every movement, so I've been trying jumping pull ups while standing on a stack of weights (embarrassing lol) or pull ups from a low bar or rings with my feet on the floor and my body at an angle so that I'm lifting part of my weight but not all. I bought a length of nylon webbing so that I can practice the body angle pull ups at home as well.
Anyway, I think that's all for today/this week. 34 more days until my goal weight date and two more weeks until my trip to Alaska, so next weekend I'll be packing and prepping everything because I fly after my last day at work that following week!! Hope everyone has a great weekend and a ton of successes!
Thank you! and it's been good to read about the successes you've been having as well!
myleanbaby
New member
The more I do it, the more I love it! I would be so bummed if I missed class now!
Buy yourself a set of bands, attach to the pull-up bar and place your knees in the loop hanging down. The band will provide assistance to do the full movement in a safe controlled manner. reduce the size of the band as you get stronger.
There is no shortage of videos showing how to do Band Pull-ups
myleanbaby
New member
Additional entry this weekend to share a major milestone! Finally got up the courage to go to a “real” CrossFit class (have been attending beginners class)! A girl in my beginners class and I made a date to do it together but then she didn’t show up and I almost snuck out, but instead stuck with it and stayed! Even more anxiety inducing was that it turned out to be a partner work out and I didn’t know anybody there, but I hitched up my big girl pants and asked some nice lady next to me to be my partner and explained that I am a beginner and unfortunately not too strong or fast yet (meaning she would likely end up having to work harder). It just so happened that being June 28 it was also a Pride themed WOD, so it was a really full class and we all wore our rainbow gear
In commemoration of my first real Workout of the Day:
In commemoration of my first real Workout of the Day:
alligatorob
Respected Member
Hey MLB, you really are doing well. Are you still getting most of your sustenance from Huel?
I have never tried Huel, but over the years I have tried liquid diets, they were never able to make me feel as satisfied as solid food. I do still have the occasional Lean Shake or something when I need calories and its convenient. Are you able to feel full and satisfied on a mostly liquid diet?
I have never tried Huel, but over the years I have tried liquid diets, they were never able to make me feel as satisfied as solid food. I do still have the occasional Lean Shake or something when I need calories and its convenient. Are you able to feel full and satisfied on a mostly liquid diet?
myleanbaby
New member
It was great! Well, it was like every other work out at CrossFit... while I was working out I felt like I was going to die, then like 20 mins after I felt amazing physically and mentally for the rest of the day! Its such a great change to start feeling proud of myself and doing things outside of my comfort zone. It's amazing (and awful) the way being overweight can really impact your mental and social wellbeing... I can't tell you how many things I didn't do or didn't try because I was embarrassed about the way I looked. Regardless of the positive impact on my health, both working out and losing weight through diet are having a positive impact on my self-esteem and self-confidence.
Rob, I LOVE HUEL! I try not to be too obnoxious about it here because I know everyone has their own strategy and their own goals, but it has been THE key factor in my weight loss. I eat 800 cals (two 400 cal meals) Huel, two 100 cal snacks, and one "real" meal around 400 cals for a total of 1400-1500 cals/day. I make it ahead and it gets kind of thick like a milkshake and I absolutely DOWN it when I have my meal because I've come to really enjoy it. I do get hungry when it's close to my next meal/snack time, but I eat every 3 hours, so I just tell myself to hold on til that time and Huel is enough to carry me through. I've never used any shakes or liquid foods before, so I can't say how it compares, but it has been a godsend and a life saver for me. In reality it is not a diet product, and weight loss is totally unrelated to the company's purpose (providing nutritionally sound, low environmental impact, convenient food that is affordable), but it is the first thing I have ever successfully used to maintain a calorie deficit.
Anyway, another good week for me this week, I lost 2.2lbs from last week's weigh in! I did sneak a couple of additional weigh ins in around my weigh day last week and noticed a huge span of variation! So, I just took my "official" weigh in and left it at that. When I was struggling with eating disorder behaviors in the past, scale obsession/compulsive weighing was a problem for me, so its probably better that I just keep it to the weekly weigh.
Today I went to my second "real" CrossFit WOD (workout of the day)
It was actually a fairly easy day for CrossFit, a "Recovery" workout for those that might have gone too hard on Independence day lol... basically rounds of jump rope, deadlifts, rowing, sit ups, push press with loud music and HIGH temperatures! Social anxiety struck HARD all the way from my apartment to the door of the gym, I kept thinking "oh, I could just turn back," "oh, I could just do a little light yoga at home," "oh, I'm not going to know anyone or what to do", but I just kept moving my feet forward until I got through the door, then everything was fine. Still a little nervous and awkward interacting with all new people, but everyone is so friendly and welcoming, it's getting easier. I like that in my beginners class that now I can be the welcoming one to people who are new and nervous about what they can and can't do.Other than that, tomorrow is my big packing day for my trip, after tomorrow I'll be working each day up to the flight. I bought a lot of cold weather gear last year for a backpacking trip to Yellowstone/Grand Tetons/Glacier which I plan to use in Alaska, but I read that Anchorage hit 90F yesterday! Might need to pack my Hawaiian uniform of shorts, tank, and slippahs after all! My boyfriend and I will be spending 8 days backpacking and camping in Denali National Park, and 5 days in cabins (luxury!!) in Kenai Fjords National Park, with a couple of days before and in between to explore. I cannot WAIT to get there and see all the amazing landscapes and hopefully WILDLIFE! Not sure if I will have time to write next week before we fly, but I will try to get in at least for a weigh in update. It will have to be a Thursday weigh in because we fly out Thursday night! My goal date is just 6 days after we return back to Hawaii, so hopefully I can maintain my calorie deficit during my vacation as well as having a great time
Hope you all are well, happy weekend to all!!
That sounds like a wonderful trip! Very jealous!
myleanbaby
New member
Hi gang! Got in late last night from my trip to Alaska--it was just as great as I had hoped it would be! I have to work tonight (overnight shift) and for the rest of the week, so its a little bit of a stressful turn around. On the trip I felt I did very well with following my diet plan through the 12 days of travel and Denali, but did take about 4 days off at Kenai Fjords where we stayed in a lodge/cabins and all of the food and snacks were included in the package. Although I really loved all of the food there, I can honestly say I didn't feel so well after the three months of controlled eating to go to all of the rich foods and huge portions that I guess we consider "normal".
Weighed in today, mostly out of curiosity, at 131.8lbs. I'm starting back on my regular diet plan today, and I have a feeling that at least a couple of pounds will drop off once I re-balance to my regular schedule, eating, and working out. Overall, I feel pretty happy that I have lost some weight and as long as I haven't gained, I know I have a system that will work to help me get to my goal weight!
My original goal was to lose 30lbs (158 to 128) and my goal date is FRIDAY, August 2! Not sure if I will make it after the long vacation, but it feels great to be getting close! I also plan to re-asess my health and weight goals when I do reach my goal weight as I do feel that I still have some "pouches" of fat I feel a little uncomfortable with, and I intend to continue to gain muscle with CrossFit, so I'm not sure where that will leave me from a total weight perspective.
One exciting milestone I would like to share was that I had a chance to go to my favorite outdoor store (REI!!!) in Anchorage so that I could try on a few pairs of hiking pants for my next trip (September) and all of mine are way too big now... AAAANNNNNDDDD everything that fit was Size 4--my non-scale goal! And it wasn't like, "ok hold your breath and get ready to button!", they were just comfortable and flexible and no muffin-top!
Anyway, that's all I have for now, but I'll be back at the end of the week to post for my goal date!
Weighed in today, mostly out of curiosity, at 131.8lbs. I'm starting back on my regular diet plan today, and I have a feeling that at least a couple of pounds will drop off once I re-balance to my regular schedule, eating, and working out. Overall, I feel pretty happy that I have lost some weight and as long as I haven't gained, I know I have a system that will work to help me get to my goal weight!
My original goal was to lose 30lbs (158 to 128) and my goal date is FRIDAY, August 2! Not sure if I will make it after the long vacation, but it feels great to be getting close! I also plan to re-asess my health and weight goals when I do reach my goal weight as I do feel that I still have some "pouches" of fat I feel a little uncomfortable with, and I intend to continue to gain muscle with CrossFit, so I'm not sure where that will leave me from a total weight perspective.
One exciting milestone I would like to share was that I had a chance to go to my favorite outdoor store (REI!!!) in Anchorage so that I could try on a few pairs of hiking pants for my next trip (September) and all of mine are way too big now... AAAANNNNNDDDD everything that fit was Size 4--my non-scale goal! And it wasn't like, "ok hold your breath and get ready to button!", they were just comfortable and flexible and no muffin-top!
Anyway, that's all I have for now, but I'll be back at the end of the week to post for my goal date!
Cate
Long term member
Major victory mlb!
I need some new hiking pants but have been putting off buying them until I lose at least 5 kg.
I'll just have to imagine myself with no muffin top for now. Well done you
alligatorob
Respected Member
Down to 131.8 from 158 is really good! Even if you don't make your August 2 goal date you have done real well and will be there soon.
I like Alaska, my father lived in Fairbanks for several years and I visited often, its a great place. One of my most memorable trips was in January, it was like being on some other planet. For the week I was there the temperature never got above -20 F, I think that's about -30 C. And the sun was only up a couple of hours a day, and it did not rise much above the horizon. Never imagined people lived in a place like that. I did however get to see some really spectacular northern lights.
Looking forward to you next progress report!
I like Alaska, my father lived in Fairbanks for several years and I visited often, its a great place. One of my most memorable trips was in January, it was like being on some other planet. For the week I was there the temperature never got above -20 F, I think that's about -30 C. And the sun was only up a couple of hours a day, and it did not rise much above the horizon. Never imagined people lived in a place like that. I did however get to see some really spectacular northern lights.
Looking forward to you next progress report!
myleanbaby
New member
Thanks Rob & Cate! Rob, we had the opposite experience, it was only dark from about 12am-3am!!! Even then it was only kind of twilight, and the sunrise and particularly the sunset was like 6 hours long!! Such a surreal experience, especially as we were sleeping outdoors! It was hard to remember to stop hiking because it could be 9 or 10pm and still look like it was about 3pm. They also happened to be having a bit of a heat wave when we arrived, it was warmer in Anchorage than it was in Honolulu! We did have several days of cold and rain while we were backpacking, but balanced out with several beautiful, clear days.
Anyway, on to the most important news of the day.... ITS GOAL WEIGHT DAAAAYYYYY!!! I had to work an extra shift last night, and I normally like to weigh on Friday morning after I've slept, but I had to work and its goal day, so I decided to do my weekly weigh anyway... [DRUM ROLL PLEASE].... 127.8!!!! I MADE IT!! I DID IT! I accomplished my goal!!!!!
SO excited and so proud of myself following through on my commitment and my plan and my calorie deficit, and all those moments when I looked at a candy or a doughnut or was offered cake at work and told myself and everyone around me, "no, thank you" BECAUSE I GOT GOALS!
I guess now the real work starts... maintenance. I use the Healthline calculator for my calorie deficit and I will follow it for calorie maintenance, so I'm looking at about 1700 calories per day to maintain at this weight around 128, which the internet says is my medically "ideal weight". I feel pretty good about my shape and thinness/thickness, though I definitely still have some good "pouches" of fat, especially on my stomach and inner thighs, so I'm thinking I try to keep my same weight but keep working on my fitness so that the muscle weight continues to go up while my body fat decreases a little more. I am amazed at the amount of muscle definition I have gained with the combination of CrossFit improving my overall tone and weight loss from diet reducing the body fat that was covering it before.
So I guess my maintenance plan looks like this:
Breakfast
450 cals Huel + inclusions (berries, powdered peanut butter, matcha and spinach, etc)
Snack
200 cal
Lunch
450 cals Huel +
Snack
200 cal
Dinner
400 cals traditional food (inclusive of any alcohol or alcohol to be offset by reallocation of calories from smaller snacks)
=1700 cals
To be honest it all feels a bit surreal... I'm not sure I really believed I would make it to my goal weight, and even more surreal that I did it exactly to my goal date! I definitely feel nervous about increasing my calories in any way for any reason having been so strict for the past 15 weeks, and while I know it's the right thing to do, its really scary... I don't want to gain the weight back ever again. I want to take good care of myself and be fit and healthy and make good choices for my body. It's exciting but also scary to think about being more flexible with my diet and saying "yes" here and there to my boyfriend and my friends when they want to go eat or drink or ask me to try something. I think the best course of action is to continue to track all of my calories on MFP as best I can, and continue weekly weigh ins to make sure I stay in my calorie allocation and also to be sure that it actually works for me to maintain at this weight.
Anyway, would love to hear from anyone that has had success in maintenance as I have tried before and over time lost ground and gained it back :/
But on a brighter note, here are some pics to celebrate my accomplishment!
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