Losing Weight in 2019

[elaine amj]

Happy New Year!!!

Now that the holidays are over - let's take a look at the scale again!

It's time to retire Losing Weight in 2018 and start a new thread for a new year. Who's in?

Let's kick things off with a recap of 2018 and your plans for 2019. What are you going to work on this year?

[elaine amj]

2018 was an interesting year with a lot of emotional ups and downs which contributed to a lot of stress eating. I lost a little here and there, piled more on, then successfully dropped 10 lbs in the summer - then promptly piled 15 more pounds on over the fall.

Starting the year back at my highest weight from 3 years ago (154lbs). This is officially obese for my very petite 5ft frame. THREE times now I have dropped as low as 130lbs so it is annoying to see all this weight back on again.

I am finally ready to do something about it and have logged back into MyFitnessPal again. It is the only thing that has ever helped me lose weight. And maybe I just need to accept that I should log for the rest of my life. We'll see (I hate logging!)

My biggest challenge is binge eating when I am upset. Need to find a less destructive way to channel my frustrations when I am upset that doesn't involve finding the largest portions of the unhealthiest junk possible.

Also, once I start eating a meal I have a hard time stopping and usually continue nibbling on this and that even when I am not hungry. So focused on healthier options for post-meal nibbles.

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[ToughMother]

In 2018, after I left my soul-sucking job, I wanted to drop the weight that had crept on over the last 8 years.   And, I managed to go from 135 down to 117.  Sweet!  Goal met.

Well, those pesky fall/winter holidays have taken their toll and I've put 5 lbs back on.  So, getting that back off again is the 2019 goal!  Wishing everyone well in their weight and health goals!

[wintertell]

In 2018, I got to my lowest weight (198), but then regained 30 lb of my  total 70 lb loss. My goal is to get back down to my lowest weight in 2019 and keep it off. I'm eating paleo-ish and using Weight Watchers for support. For activity, I'm focusing on consistency rather than any particular thing. Aiming for at least 1 day a week in the gym for weight lifting.

[C-note]

I'm not sure how much weight I lost in 2018 because I never weighed myself for a starting weight.  I do know that I bought clothes that were significantly smaller.

My 2-week winter/holiday vacation put 8 pounds back on.  Fingers-crossed that I still fit into those smaller-sized clothes.

For 2019, I want to lose the 8 I gained back plus 5 more.

[Eurotexan]

I’ll join! I lost about 20 lbs last year and need to lose another 9 to reach my goal. I did pretty well over the Holidays so want to keep the momentum going!

[BurbPlanner]

Jumping in with you guys for support in the new year!

I've dropped almost 20 lbs towards the end of 2018, primarily through intermittent fasting with durations from 24 hours to 2.5 days. Lazy keto wasn't doing it for me - too hard for me to walk on by all the crap people bring to the office to share. When I'm fasting, I can't pretend that I can eat "just half the donut!" Interestingly, I have less hunger fasting than with other eating patterns.

Going forward, I aim to drop another 15 lbs, bringing me to 150, and then evaluate my goals.  For my height, 150 is at the top of the 'healthy BMI' and I could probably benefit from getting lower.  However, at that point, it may be better to focus on building strength and sustainable habits that will last. 

One challenge I have is finding rewards that fit my frugal goals as well.  Fasting does have the benefit of not requiring fancy diet foods, but I do like having treats to look forward to!  What do you guys use as healthy, frugal rewards?

[Dixie_Amazon]

I'm in!

I gained 10 pounds in 2018 and I am lucky it wasn't worse.

A suspicious area was discovered via x-ray on my husband's lung. Long story short he had the upper lobe of his left lung removed in October and the suspicions was a cancerous tumor. I am a stress eater and there was plenty of it.

This year I want to get back to walking and eating less junk.

[ItsALongStory]

In 2018 I actually did quite well, losing about 22-23lbs at some point. It started to creep back towards the fall period with only about 12lb loss on the year.

In 2019 I want to set realistic short term goals to keep me focused which I will do through partaking in a weight loss challenge at work to help trigger my competitive nature. Two of those were the driver for my weightloss. The ultimate hope is still to get below 200lbs (means losing about 35-38 lbs) so let's aim for 210 by end of 2019.

My biggest problem areas are beer and eating out, cutting back on both should certainly benefit me in multiple ways.

[neophyte]

I started 2018 at 180 and finished the year around 155, which at least puts me in the healthy BMI range. I managed to lose 25 lbs but my goal was 40.  I'd like to lose the remaining 15 lbs. and possibly more in 2019. I plan to reevaluate my goals when I hit 140, I think at that point it will be more about building muscle and lowering my body fat % than weight.

My plan for achieving this:
-Log food. I use MFP. Ugh. But it works.
-Weigh myself daily. Not good for some people, only way for me to keep myself accountable.
-Prep the veggies when I get home from the store before they even go in the fridge. If they are ready I'll snack on them. If I have to do any prep at all I'll look for something easier.
-Keep junk food out of the house. I have no self control.
-Bodyweight workouts and some weights. I hate cardio though.
-Dance more. Hike more.

[bcbaseballman]

Hello all, I am going to join this year. Last year I didn't really gain or lose anything but I still am up at 180 lbs. being 5'6" that's a bit big. my goal is to get down to 150lbs by the end of next year and just be healthier all around. going to reduce my screen time (phone and TV) and add more workout and reading are some of the big priorities for this upcoming year. Also going to start eating salads at lunch.

Good Luck Everyone

[turketron]

Count me in!

I've never closely tracked my weight, but from the infrequent occasions where I have weighed myself I know I've gained maybe 10 or so pounds in the past year or two. I weighed myself this morning and I'm at ~161, I'd like to get that down to 150. I could certainly stand to lose more than that but I think that'll be a good starting goal.

I think my first goal will just be to weigh myself every morning to establish a baseline, just to get in the habit of paying more attention to it. I'll probably update in a week or two and go from there.

How do people here feel about food/calorie tracking apps? Do you find them useful? Is there a specific one you would recommend? The only one I know of is MyFitnessPal but I've heard mixed things about it.

[Dixie_Amazon]

How do people here feel about food/calorie tracking apps? Do you find them useful? Is there a specific one you would recommend? The only one I know of is MyFitnessPal but I've heard mixed things about it.

I use MFP and find it helpful. Measuring things and seeing how many calories something has can be a shock. Cereal was a real eyeopener for me. Stay away from the forums I find them more irritating than helpful.

[rab-bit]

In 2018, I lost 66 pounds (started at 253, ended at 187), so it was a year of significant progress for me. Earlier in the year, the weight loss was primarily from dieting (changing eating habits to keep to ~2000 calories per day). Later in the year as my weight loss began to slow, I started exercising more to maintain progress. By the end of the year, I hit a wall, so I'm taking a 1 week break from the dieting (eating to my expected maintenance level of 2300-2400 calories per day) and will restart the 2000 calorie diet on January 7th.

I'm joining again this year to lose about 12 more pounds to reach my ultimate goal weight of 175. I plan to keep doing pretty much the same thing as last year, though I may tweak my daily routine by eating a little more during the day so I'm not as hungry at the end of the day (when I have the most trouble sticking to the plan). Any other suggestions from those who have had a similar experience after hitting a dieting wall would be greatly appreciated!

[caffeine]

I'm in.

Last year I did keto. I went from 194 to 162. I've since gained back to 175 :(

The weight loss without weight lifting has left me weak. I intend to track macros and exercise this time around. Goal weight of 150.  25 pounds.

Here. We. Go!

[SansSkill]

I'm in, not sure exactly how much I lost in 2018 as I gave up trying to lose weight due to other more pressing concerns (which ironically, includes my health).
My goal is to take it slow(er) this year because I'm not sure how much I've actually recovered and how much time I'll have to put into weight loss (aka I might be more dependant then planned on the kitchen to determine progress).

Joining for 15kg or a goal of 80kg, I'll drop the last 10-15 in 2020.

[FireHiker]

I don't even remember if I posted in last year's thread. Not worth going back to see, planning to move forward and not look back.

In 2018 I took up running, and I've realized that it would be a LOT easier if I could drop 30-40 pounds. As of today I am 172.4. My main goal is to take the Michael Pollan approach: "Eat food, not too much, mostly plants." I am not in a rush to drop the weight because I'd rather do it in a maintainable way. I am not going to give anything up wholesale, but focus on portion control and balance. I have probably been drinking a little more than I really need for the past couple months, so I'm going to cut back, but not cut out entirely.

[Mongoose]

I don't even remember if I posted in last year's thread. Not worth going back to see, planning to move forward and not look back.

In 2018 I took up running, and I've realized that it would be a LOT easier if I could drop 30-40 pounds. As of today I am 172.4. My main goal is to take the Michael Pollan approach: "Eat food, not too much, mostly plants." I am not in a rush to drop the weight because I'd rather do it in a maintainable way. I am not going to give anything up wholesale, but focus on portion control and balance. I have probably been drinking a little more than I really need for the past couple months, so I'm going to cut back, but not cut out entirely.

This sounds like me! I want to run a half marathon in October 2019 and it would be nice to have 30 pounds off by that point. But, it's got to be sustainable and not a source of stress as my schedule is already insane.

[Goinganon]

Over the past few years, my weight was slowly but steadily rising. In August 2018, I heard about Diet Bet and decided to give it a try. Since then, I’ve lost nearly 40 lbs. I have another 54 lbs to lose to be in a healthy BMI. I’d love to get there in 2019, although I know that it will be a stretch for me.

I’ve lost the weight so far by doing intermittent fasting on a 16:8 schedule (it’s my natural eating pattern so it works for me), tracking calories, and increasing my daily movement.

[alleykat]

Well, I have tried losing weight for a long time now and just failed.  This year I feel ready, at least I do right now. For the month of January, I am giving up on sweets, no cakes, pies, ice cream, cookies, etc. I need to break the habit of reaching for it when I am stressed out or bored. Then, I will exercise portion control. I just have to be mindful in not replacing it with something else.

This is my second day with no sweets.

I will weigh myself tomorrow morning for my starting weight.  However, I know I want my ending goal to be 140 or thereabouts. 

Edited: starting at 167.

[facepalm]

I must have posted on three of these threads last year, but can't find any of them.

Over the last year, I dropped 70 lbs. currently sitting at 233. I'm generally dropping 20 lbs. every three months or so (I have a Dexa scan every three months, and that is what has been happening).

For 2019, My goal is to get to 200 lbs.

I use caloric restriction (run at a slight deficit over the week) track my food, and am mostly keto. Definitely fat adapted.

How do people here feel about food/calorie tracking apps? Do you find them useful? Is there a specific one you would recommend? The only one I know of is MyFitnessPal but I've heard mixed things about it.

For me it has been absolutely necessary. I think for weight loss in general, tracking or logging food is absolutely necessary, and there is some research to suggest that those who track their food do better at weight loss than those that do not.

Since I am doing keto, I use Carb Manager (free), but any app that allows you to track foods and calories should work. I like carb manager as it allows me to customize my macros (in grams) and it remembers frequently eaten foods. 

[SquashingDebt]

I'm in!  I ended 2018 down 11.4 lbs for the year.  Better than it has been the last few years, but still a long ways to go to my goal.

Some observations from last year:  I started off strong, lots of exercise and calorie tracking, and lost my first 10 lbs pretty quickly.  Then, when I got busy at work in the summer, things slowed down a lot, but I still kept losing, down to a loss of 20 lbs at the beginning of October.  That's when things hit peak busyness at work and I also was dealing with an unusually high anxiety level.  I re-gained about 4 lbs then, then 5 more during the holiday season.

What was interesting to me was that I was able to keep losing over the summer, even after I had stopped calorie tracking.  The regaining didn't start until I was under a lot of stress and then had constant holiday food temptations around for 2 months.

My plan this year is to really focus on weight loss for the next four months, because I've learned that that's the time of year it's easier for me.  Also, a big bucket-list trip to Europe is at the end of those four months, and the healthier I can feel by then, the more fun I'll have traipsing around all the cities :)

To kick things off, I'm going to sign up for the premium version of MyNetDiary to get my calorie tracking up and running again.  I'm also doing a no-sweets challenge for January. 

[C-note]

I'm not sure how much weight I lost in 2018 because I never weighed myself for a starting weight.  I do know that I bought clothes that were significantly smaller.

My 2-week winter/holiday vacation put 8 pounds back on.  Fingers-crossed that I still fit into those smaller-sized clothes.

For 2019, I want to lose the 8 I gained back plus 5 more.

12-14-18 - Beginning Weight:  188.1
01-03-19 - 185.2 - Down 2.9  Remaining to First Goal:  2.4  Remaining to Second Goal:  7.4

[elaine amj]

Looks like I am not the only one who lost weight only to regain. A little frustrating but I guess we just have to keep plugging away at learning new habits.

@turketron Like many here, I too found success in calorie tracking. Logging is a drag but it's not all the bad whrn u get in the habit. I like the very large database on MyFitnessPal. To log effectively, there are lots of little tricks that are not readily apparent.

The best part about logging meticulously is you can eat more food. When I am not meticulous and do not weigh every last gram, I usually err on the side of NOT fitting in a yummy treat to end the week.

My preference is to aim for whole foods that are nutritionally dense. Hard for me sometimes because I actually don't like most vegetables. But veggies are AWESOME at helping me feel full. So I have learned to do things like puree eggplant and pumpkin into marinara sauce over zucchini noodles. Or make a vegetable soup. Or add a handful of spinach into my noodle soup (I find I barely notice them once they are wilted).

@alleykat Thrilled to see you back on here! Losing weight is really a mind game. And sounds like your head is in it right now which is awesome! I have been trying to get my head in it for a few months now and finally, someyhing clicked and I started Jan 1!

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[StarBright]

I think this will be my third or fourth year joining this thread.

I basically lost 10 pounds my first year and have struggled with the last five pounds for the last couple of years. I got within 2.8 pounds last summer.

I'll give it one more year :)

Jan 1: 147 pounds

Goal: 140

[neophyte]

I had a bit of a bounce after New Year, but now that things have stabilized, I'm calling 157 my official start weight for this year. My first goal is to hit 150 by the end of the month. Then 5 lbs each in February and March.  It's ambitions based on an average loss of 2 lbs per month last year.  If I manage it, that will put me at my goal by April. Then the plan is to maintain there for 3 months and reevaluate.

[Duchess of Stratosphear]

"Lose Weight" Take 5,213

This year I'm trying to keep it really simple:

Nothing is off limits, but I'm going to try to give myself a kick start by sticking to only nutrient dense but low energy dense foods (fruits, veggies, beans, whole grains, but especially veggies and fruits) for a couple of weeks.

After that, my main strategy will be to start each meal (especially lunch and dinner) with soup, salad, or fruit to hopefully fill me up so I won't overdo it on higher energy dense foods.

I'll probably track what I eat occasionally through Cronometer because I like to see how many micro and macronutrients I'm getting when I eat the good stuff and to take a sample of what my calorie intake is.

I think I might weigh myself every ten days rather than weekly just to mix it up and give myself more time to move the scale.

I want to try to get in more walking each day, especially during the week when I'm desk bound.

I'm not a diligent budgeter or tracker in any part of my life, so I need to find a method that doesn't make me have to do that. I'm also trying to focus on how much better I feel and sleep when I eat a whole foods plant based diet rather than fixating too much on the weight issue. But it would be great to lose 10-15 pounds :)

Good luck to us all!

[lexde]

I’ve been using the YouAte app (only for about a week so far). The free version is fairly limited, but it’s enough for me. Photo-based logging rather than calorie/macro counting. After you snap the photo, you mark it “on path” or “off path”. You can then add comments and mark things off like why you ate, who you ate with, where you ate, and how it made you feel.

Then you see data regarding your answers, which is nice.

It’s enough to deter me from getting seconds (unless I’m VERY hungry) and snacking, without making me feel deprived. I like it so far, and as long as I don’t eat out much, it should be very useful. I don’t want to pull out my phone and snap food pics at a restaurant (but there’s an option just to write in what you ate, too).

[turketron]

on day 3 of weighing + tracking what I'm eating- so far it's been ok. I'm using Lose It (you can use the app without having to create a login profile- I don't really trust MyFitnessPal much after their data breach last year) and it works pretty well- most of the general functionality doesn't require getting the paid version, which is nice.  The database of foods is pretty comprehensive, and scanning items using the barcode is working well so far.

My biggest issue is that it turns out I'm not very good at guesstimating volumes or portion sizes. I grabbed some leftover stew to bring for lunch and I couldn't tell you if I ate a cup's worth? 2? ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Next week I'll just measure them out when I put it in the tupperware in the morning.

I know it's only been a few days but I do feel like I'm more conscious of my choices, even if I haven't specifically made any intentional changes to my eating patterns. For example, if I have a slice of the banana bread my coworker brought in, I know I'm gonna have to determine a portion size and calorie info, so maybe just don't grab a piece this time....

[Rubyvroom]

I'm in, though I've been here before! I am now officially the heaviest I've ever been (ok by like 1lb, but still). The last time I was this weight (10 years ago) I was so diligent about getting the weight off that I lost 40lbs, only to slowly gain it back throughout the years. I'm 14lbs over my wedding weight (13 years ago), so at the VERY LEAST I'd like to get that off, though I want to set a stretch goal (pun intended?) and try to get that 40lb off again. At 1lb per week, that would fall right around my SO's FIRE date in October, which would be cool timing. That would take me from a ~30 BMI to a ~24 BMI, which means I'd go from teetering on the Overweight/Obese borderline to teetering on the Normal/Overweight borderline, which frankly looked quite skinny on me when I managed to pull it off 10 years ago.

Good luck everyone!

[Sugaree]

I'm back on the calorie-counting wagon....again.  This time, I'm trying to be better organized and entering all my recipes into MFP so that logging becomes easier and I stick with it.  I always do awesome when I'm logging my calories religiously.  But I also tend to become overly obsessed with numbers and macros.  When I find myself counting out individual almonds, I know that I've taken it a bit too far. 

[haypug16]

I'll be joining this thread sometime in the spring. I'm currently 6 months pregnant but I do plan on working out and not gaining a ton of weight. So far I'm right within range. I'm hoping after delivery I'll only have 15 or so pounds to lose.

[elaine amj]

I'm back on the calorie-counting wagon....again.  This time, I'm trying to be better organized and entering all my recipes into MFP so that logging becomes easier and I stick with it.  I always do awesome when I'm logging my calories religiously.  But I also tend to become overly obsessed with numbers and macros.  When I find myself counting out individual almonds, I know that I've taken it a bit too far.

LOL! MFP taught me to weigh my food - I can be meticulous to the gram! All kidding aside, logging is the only thing that has helped me lose weight.

What I REALLY need to learn is how to keep the weight off! I have been yo-yoing up and down for 3 years now and while I lose at a slow and steady pace, I can't imagine it is healthy for me to keep going up and down like that. I need to figure out how to eat like a thin (and super short 5ft) person for the rest of my life.

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[Dixie_Amazon]

I weighed in for the first time since December 26th. Down 2.8 pounds. I am very pleased, to say the least.

[elaine amj]

@Dixie_Amazon That's awesome! I love the whoosh of water weight loss when dieting first starts. It gets us off to an exciting start!

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[SmartyCat]

I'm in! In 2018 I lost 10 pounds overall (down 16 at one point, put back 6 during the holidays). My ultimate goal is 40 more; in 2019 I want to make serious progress on that.

What works for me is bright line eating - no sugar, no flour, eating only at mealtimes, foods/quantity planned in advance. Everything in me resists planning my meals in advance to that degree. But on days where I get over that hurdle, the next day is so easy. The decision has been made the night before, all I need to do is glance at the plan and prep/eat exactly that. My fears about meals being unsatisfying haven't come to fruition - I enjoy my food when I'm eating it, and don't think about it much in between.

The biggest challenge for me is consistency in writing down my meals the night before. I always think I can wing it, which ends up in seat-of-the-pants chaos after about two days.

Here's to 2019!

[elaine amj]

@smartycat It definitely makes it easier to preplan. Do you have any default meal that fits in your plans and that you really like to eat? That can be your fallback when u don't have plans.

I started my weight tracking on Monday Dec 31 when I weighed in at 154 - just what I weighed when I started all this 3 years ago on Jan 1 2016. Ouch. Sucks to have piled back 24 lbs.

On a good note, 5 days later I am down to 150.2 thanks to all the water weight loss after the holiday gorging.

I was particularly impressed yesterday when I had two non-diet meals (turkey leftover lunch at 350 cals and Dennys dinner at 710 cals) and clocked in at a mere 1060 cals for the day (I am just 5ft so only get 1200 cals to lose weight).

I got pretty nibbly today though which was a bit dangerous. After lunch I started with grapes. Then 2 shortbread cookies. Then 2 ginger cookies. Then a a small handful of chips. It was really hard to stop but kmowing I had to log it all helped. Thankfully, I got a lot of exercise in today so I am still under my numbers for the day. (Purposely eating less to make up for giant meals on Monday and Thursday).

Here's to all of us making good decisions tomorrow!

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[alleykat]

I will report every Sunday morning if I remember

1/1 - 167
1/6 - 162.7

Yay to water weight. But I was surprised to see this this morning.  I use a digital scale and I am not sure how accurate they can be but I am going with it. As long as it keeps going down and not up, I am okay with that.  But I do think this is somewhat accurate because I really have cut down on what I eat and I even put chips on the no list. I found myself reaching for replacements.

I am looking forward to the coming week.

I have gotten some urges for sweets, not strong though, but I am liking the fact that I am able to say no. 

[Nederstash]

I'm in. I lost a meager 10lbs since October, I went from 220 to 210. It's been hard to keep up the momentum. I need to get below 150 for a healthy BMI. Right now my babystep is getting below 200 by February 24 (birthday of a friend who wants to do a chocolate making class for her birthday. Yay...)

[starbuck]

I'm in! My baby girl just turned 4 months old, and I have not lost a single pound since I left the hospital. I only gained 25 throughout my pregnancy, and the 15 pounds left will not budge. And what's most annoying is that it is 90% concentrated around my belly, to the point where someone at the Y asked me if I was experiencing morning sickness! =/ This also means that NONE of my regular clothing fits yet, so I'm currently wearing the same 3 nursing shirts and 3 pairs of leggings over and over and over again. So depressing!

So I've resumed my gym routine (typically about 4 days/week) which is the easy part as I love working out. My biggest struggle is getting a handle on my appetite. Between the breastfeeding and the hormones and being home full-time with 2 kids, I find it so hard to cut out snacking. I'll get ravenous and I've lost touch with if it's because of boredom or stress or the hunger hormones kicking in. Food is ALWAYS available and my will-power is at an all-time low. I also do all of the grocery shopping so I'm working hard at not bringing home snack foods in the first place.

We have a family wedding in September and I would like to at least lose these first 15 pounds by then. I'm currently 25 pounds heavier than when I first got pregnant 3 years ago, but I don't know how hard or easy it will be to get rid of those last vanity pounds.

Starting weight: 162

[Tabitha]

As of this morning I’m at my heaviest weight ever.  My goal for 2019 is to lose 20 lbs in 26 weeks.

[bcbaseballman]

Today I was proud of myself got up at 5:00a.m. and went for a run. made it almost 1.5 miles in about 15 min. Got home and was going to do some strength conditioning as well, but I thought I was about to die haha. Instead make me a couple of eggs with veggies for me and my boys. Will do my weight training tonight when I get home from work.
Weight
1-1-2019: 183.4 lbs
1-7-2019: 180.2 lbs

I also decided to do some diet bets. Figured if I am going to be losing this weight I might as well make some money doing it!
Keep it up everyone!

[elaine amj]

I also decided to do some diet bets. Figured if I am going to be losing this weight I might as well make some money doing it!

I am thinking of a diet bet too. Are tgere several websites? Which would you choose?

I will report every Sunday morning if I remember

A weekly report is a great thing. I often make different choices because I know I have to report it here lol. 

I was reaching for the chips last night. Stayed within my calorie counts but I think I have to change my mindset a bit and reach for fruits/real food more. From a nutrition perspective, it would be a much better thing for me than empty calories, even if my cal counts allow it.

Perhaps only fruits and veggie snacks during the week and junk food on weekends if I have the calories? I used to make luscious berry and banana ice cream in my blender which would still be an awesome treat.

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[bcbaseballman]

I also decided to do some diet bets. Figured if I am going to be losing this weight I might as well make some money doing it!

I am thinking of a diet bet too. Are tgere several websites? Which would you choose?

I just use the app that is called DietBet. It's emblem is a blue square with db in it. This is the one my wife and I have used before and they are normally not expensive bets but do give you a chance to make a little bit of money. I know there are others out there but don't know anything about them

[elaine amj]

Weekly log in:
Monday, Dec 31, 2018 154lb
Monday, Jan 7, 2019.   150.8lb

Dropped the water weight quickly by last Thursday. Scale hasn't budged in the last few days but am trusting the logging process for the next whoosh.

My mother and I are talking about getting a city swim mwmbership and joining for aquafit classes 3-5 days a week. Would be nice over the winter although getting wet certainly takes a bigger commitment.

Healthywage.com is looking interesting. Haven't run the numbers yet (not quite readg to give them my email address lol) but probably would look at spending $300-600 and earning an extra $50-100. Not a big return. My original goal was to lose 9-10 lbs in the next 8/9 weeks before my cruise in mid-March.

If I did something like Healthywage, I'd have to commit to losing at least 25 lbs over at least 6 months. That's quite a big commitment. On the other hand, I could never throw away a few hundred dollars so maybe it is a good motivation for something I want to do anyway.

My ideal weight is probably about 120lbs - so 35lbs away. Losing 25lbs gets me to a quite reasonable 130lbs which I could be content with.

Really, really debating if Healthywage will give me a boost to stick with the weightloss plans through vacations and everything. It's already getting me to think a bit bigger than a 10lb loss....

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[bcbaseballman]

The diet bet ones are normally around $25-35 each(you can do 2 at one time) and last only 1 month. Mainly they are lose 4% of your body weight in that time. They have paid me about around $15-20 for each of the ones that I have won though.

[elaine amj]

After some (ok - a LOT!) of deliberating, I decided to put down a big chunk of change on HealthyWage to give myself some financial motivation. I am still a little in shock that I did this - but also kinda excited.

Originally I only planned to hope to lose maybe 10 lbs, perhaps by March but maybe later would be good too. Then when I started considering HealthyWage, the parameters insist that it take at least 6 months and that your goal weight must be at least 10% less than your starting weight. So I wondered how much I could lose in 6 months. I wavered between a challenge of 20 or 25 lbs but with an extra $100 offered if I chose 25lbs, I ended up going for more money :)

I turn 40 the week after the bet ends and it will be very exciting to get to 129lbs in time for my birthday and summer vacations! (I admit to hedging my bets a little - wore the heaviest tshirt and shorts I own, waited until after dinner AND drank a ton of water for an official weigh in of 154.2lbs - I added on almost 4lbs from this morning's weigh in!).

I understand that each offer is individual (kinda like Deal or No Deal lol). I ended up putting in $100 for 6 months (so total of $600) for a prize of $1080 or an 80% return. I considered just $50/6 months or even DietBet where the buy in is often $20-30ish but felt surprisingly motivated by the higher numbers. I can write off $30 but THERE IS ABSOLUTELY NO WAY I will write off $600!! Plus the $480 winnings will pad my vacation fund nicely :)

If anyone wants to join me, my referral link is https://hwage.co/574832/ (we each get $40 added on to our payouts).

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[smoghat]

I was at 204 when the New Year started (record high for me, YUCK!). I went down to 202 by the end of last week and 198.8 today.

That sounds like great progress but I'd gained about 6 pounds over the holidays and some of it was probably water (or whatever) from the 5 hours in the car on the way back from our ski vacation. I've given up booze for dry January and am doing well with my running (I really wanted to end my run at 3.3 miles today but went for 4.3 instead, a much better feeling as a result!). Today I had an early dinner, which allowed me to avoid eating chips at 5, which I am prone to doing.

I have a fancy bluetooth scale, but the bad thing is I don't like to include my weight when it goes up, so this lets my weight creep up. No more, from here on in, I have to take the good and the bad and record my weight every day. I never made it below 190 in 2018, which sucks. This has to stop, my healthy weight would be in the 170s, heck I was 168 at age 40 and here I am at age 52. I know I am more muscular, but also a lot more fat. My goal is to get to 179 pounds. At .5 pounds a week, I will be there in the middle of October. Wish me luck and shame me if I screw up! I'll keep you posted.   

[elaine amj]

@smoghat On the good side, looks like you lost all that holiday weight gain and are now on the downward trend. We'll be here cheering you on!!

It's interesting, but the HealthyWage thing has introduced some extra determination in me. The jury is still out but I am willing to give it a shot.

In addition, I am not just focusing on the pounds. I also want to eat healthier. Am going to put more effort into packing more nutrition into my meals. I don't naturally like veggies so it takes a bit more to find ways for me to enjoy veggies.

Many times it's a compromise. E.g. I have fallen in love with Vietnamese summer rolls, which is rice wraps stuffed with raw veggies. My mother tried sweet potato hummus as her sauce and loved it. I took a couple of bites and gave her my wrap - yuck. I love it with a less healthy hoisin-peanut sauce and it's worth it for me to enjoy the wrap and all the other veggies in it. I also enjoy eating rice vermicelli noodles in broth. So I switched up to 100% mung bean vermicelli and added a large handful of spinach to the broth. I also try to make zucchini noodles regularly - lovely in marinara sauce or as a fried lo mein.

Last night, my mother and I tried an aquafit class and loved it. This will be good for me for strength and flexibility training - I don't do much of that. I am following it up with a 15-30 min lap swimming session. We plan to buy a $35/month membership and go maybe 3 times a week (vs $5.50 per class). This will give us access to gyms and pools in 4 or 5 different city facilities.

Going to aim for 60-90 mins of physical activity a day. That's going to be a bit tough but from my studying of the "never overweight" thread, it looks like a regular high level of physical activity is very very important. That and a natural tendency to control portion sizes.

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[StarBright]

I'm putting myself out for financial facepunches (but I'm not not too worried about it) - but we are utilizing a meal delivery service right now. We are planning on using it through the end of January to make sure DH and I are eating healthy lunches. I am enjoying the mindlessness of it and how healthy it feels too.

The biggest downside to lots of veggies for me is definitely the prep time.