Olney/ Robinson Weight Challenge

[Sundae]

OMG.
Mum and I just had an unofficial weigh-in.
Unofficial because we start tomorrow - we'll be charting our weight, BMI, fat percentage and measurements (the latter with a good old fashioned tape measure).

Why OMG?
Because I weigh much more than I thought I did.
I think the official chart goes - Healthy, Overweight, Obese, Morbidly Obese and Holy Shit! I am in the HS category.

As of tomorrow, I start on a three month programme where my primary objective on waking up every morning is to lose weight. I'm on this with my Mum. The sad thing is that I would love to be her weight! Still, she's shorter and older than me, so I understand why she wants to lose it too. You've seen pictures, she's not wrong to be concerned.

Dads doesn't need to lose as much as us. He might go along with it. But out of the three of us, he's the most disciplined in day to day life - in keeping with his former amateur athlete persona (marathon runner, cricketer, footballer, badminton player).

Be sure I will be checking in here every week.
And I will share my statistics.
And when I get down to Mum's weight I will post nekkid pics.

Kidding - I won't be down to her weight in three months.
But if I feel happy, I will.

[Griff]

Good luck girl!
Remember the critters in Madagascar: I like to move it move it.

[limey]

Good luck SG!

[Shawnee123]

Good job SG.

If the numbers motivate you, then let them be your guide. For me, the numbers just make me want to crawl in a hole and die. Even in HS, when I was a track star and basketball player, I hated the number. It never seemed "low" enough.

I've been losing what I want, slowly and steadily. Small lifestyle changes: salads only at lunch, small small dinner. Taking stairs everywhere at work no matter what, on breaks too.

My only gauge is: are my pants growing? So far, they are...and I'm very close to my goal. It's going to be a lovely summer.

[Aliantha]

Go hard mate! You'll be fine. I'll be joining you in a couple of months time. My plan is to lose about 25 - 30kg and get down to my pre-children weight. I reckon that'll take me about 4 - 6 months, so by next summer I'll be able to wear my bikini again.

[Pico and ME]

Oh good luck SG!

(getting on soapbox)
If you can try the Zone Diet. It will change your eating habits forever if you can master it. Also, the task of mastering it keeps you fully involved in it. I was on it the same time I quit smoking. I lost two pounds the first month! Quitting Smoking! My usual when I tried to quit was a 10 to 15 pound gain.

The best thing about this diet is that you get to eat every 2 to four hours, however, your food choices are strictly regimented. It is very very healthy way to eat , though, and if you stick with it for a while you'll feel so much better and hardly ever get sick. Its also really good for mood maintenance.

[sweetwater]

Best wishes! You sound determined and excited, and that will help.

[DanaC]

Good luck, hon. You'll nail this in no time. Keep us posted! *smiles*

[morethanpretty]

Amazing SG! Its something alot of us need to do and can't get the motivation to. I'm glad you found it, and keep it up. Let us know if you need help or advice.

[Sundae]

Okay.
I lost 6lbs this week.
Mum only lost 1.5lb and is unhappy about it. She says if she only loses that little again she's not carrying on. Have had to edit this twice as there was disagreement about her starting weight, but it does seem that this is correct.

Sigh. Might lose my challenge partner as soon as we have begun!
No, I will talk to her when she gets home. Basically ask her if she is happy at the weight she is at. If the answer is "No" then she has to do something, even if it is something that only reduces it by 1.5 a week (slow and steady is the best way after all).

Oddly, the scales are saying more of my weight is fat this week.
Not sure how that works.
I know people who say if you lose a lot at once, "Oh that's all water anyway" but I've always thought that was a dieter's myth, propagated by people who don't lose as much. My fat appears to have gone up by 5lbs, although my body fat percentage is down by 0.3%

Ah well, I'm not getting too hung up on the first weeks results. If there's a trend I'll watch it over the next three months.

[Chocolatl]

Originally Posted by Sundae Girl

I'm on this with my Mum. The sad thing is that I would love to be her weight! Still, she's shorter and older than me, so I understand why she wants to lose it too.

SG -- Take this stuff into consideration when you're comparing your 6 lbs to her 4 lbs. It sounds like she has less weight to lose, and she's also older and so the weight won't come off as fast. Don't let one week's numbers get you down. [ETA: Pep talk not needed nearly as much with the correction from 1.5 lbs for Mum to 4 lbs, but still!]
It sounds like you're both off to a great start! Keep at it, and good luck. You're both in my thoughts.

[Sundae]

Sorry Chocatl - it turns out it was 1.5 after all!
Mum came home, disputed her starting weight and I changed my post.
Then I found the paper copy of the measurements from last week (written down in front of her at the time) and it did match the information I saved on my graph after all.

She's gone out again now - I hope when she comes back she'll have had time to digest this, so to speak and be happier with it.

[Chocolatl]

Okay -- pep talk back in, then. Either way, I hope she sticks with it, and as you said, slow and steady is the best way to do it. Good luck, again, to both of you.

[Bullitt]

I'm in the process of getting into better shape too SG, and the most important thing to remember is it all boils down to just taking in fewer calories than you expend in a day. There's some very simple things you can do to help you along like substituting any juice you drink for the actual fruit, the general rule of keeping your meals colorful (staying away from white breads, potatoes except sweet potatoes, etc.), and eating smaller meals several times a day to keep your metabolism continuously running instead of 2 or 3 big meals once a day, and taking at least 15-30 minutes a day for exercising. The time exercising doesn't matter so much as what you're actually doing and how exerting it is.

[Griff]

Another good idea is to keep a bowl of fruit out. I do a lot better if I can munch fruit instead of processed snack foods.