Summer is long past, so as we begin November, with the holidays approaching, it’s time to begin a new challenge. This one will be our Holiday Weight Loss Challenge.
Fall brings certain challenges, because of the approaching holidays with the parties chock full of family, friend, and work gatherings, complete with all the goodies and comfort foods of the season. Fall also brings with it a lot of opportunities because of the abundance of fresh veggies and fruits that are harvested this time of year in some parts of the country/world. That’s what I hope to take advantage of.
As we put aside the abundance of the Halloween “haul” the kids might have brought home from trick or treating, it’s time to think about dropping a few pounds before the holidays – if you have any to drop… If you don’t need to lose any weight, perhaps you simply want to maintain your current weight over the holidays, which can also be quite a challenge. It’s easier for me to have people to do these things with, hopefully, it is for you, too.
Anyone who wants to can go into a “holding pattern” over the actual holidays, if that’s your choice and simply maintain the weight you start the holiday period with. For example: I might simply try to maintain my weight over the Thanksgiving week – that would be holding whatever weight I have on Sunday before Thanksgiving until the following Sunday instead of trying to lose that week… you can choose how you want to handle that.
There are many different methods of losing weight -- a new diet comes along almost every day; new articles are printed in magazines with suggestions of all kinds, from diets to exercise routines and of course, they all profess to be the best.
I still find that making small changes and taking baby steps is the safest way to go. Healthy lifestyle changes that we can maintain are by far the best...
As many of you who have been around for a while, know, I began my weight loss journey in 2008, when my thyroid malfunctioned and I suddenly gained 30 lbs and still struggle to lose all of them. Of course, along the way, other health issues have required medications that only added to the problem. I'm quite sure that I've gained and lost the same 5, 10, or 20 lbs, numerous times, over the past few years. Sometimes, frustration runs high, other times I look at lab results or my notes on how I felt at a given time and determine to "forgive" myself and start over again.
If you have medical issues, like I do, please make sure they’re under control before embarking on a weight loss journey, or you may only set yourself up for disappointment or even further medical issues. It’s a good idea to talk to your doctor to make sure the plan you are starting is appropriate and safe for you.
I’m not a fan of “dieting” per se, as I believe in making diet and exercise choices that I can maintain over the long term vs drastic choices that I’ll only be able to tolerate for a week or two.
I’ve been doing okay lately, and over the duration of the summer challenge I managed to lose about 3 lbs, which didn’t meet my goal, but was the right direction, so I’m determined to keep going. I hope many of you will join me.
Safe weight loss is 1-2 lbs/week, but with my medical conditions and the medications I take, the most I hope for is 1 lb/week. I’m challenging all of you to “meet or beat” my goal.
All you have to do to join, is make a commitment to lose at least 1 pound/week. Can’t be *that* hard, right?? Hmmmmmm, we’ll see about that!! LOL
So here we go; just post below that you want to join, then start by losing (weight, that is). As those who have been in previous challenges know, I’ll post a weekly weigh in thread on Sunday morning in which everyone is welcome to post their loss (or gain), along with anything else they would like to post regarding their weight loss/gain, including challenges you might run into, etc. If you need help of any kind, whether it be support, motivation, weight loss tips, advice or whatever, please ask and we’ll do our best to provide help and/or resources for you.
Remember, you never have to post your actual weight – only the pounds lost/gained…
Everyone is welcome to join the challenge and/or post on the Sunday weigh in thread, whether or not you choose to join this challenge.
Are you ready?? LET’S “WIN” BY LOSING (weight)