Cake? Yes, please.

Hello guys!

I know within the Aetolian populace there are a bunch of us who've had troubles with diets and losing weight. I've been down that road myself, having lost 50 pounds just to promptly put it all back on a year later. Many of us have struggled with this, and for a good reason - it's hard as hell.

My mom pointed me to this Facebook page entitled Cake? Yes, please. The page is run by a woman who used to weigh 387 pounds, but dropped it in a year's time and looks fantastic. She's snarky and hilarious in her posts, and I've found myself getting inspired by seeing all of the uplifting comments, and the genuine great nature of this woman who tries to support this group that's growing probably far faster than she had anticipated.

She's going to be holding somewhat of a contest, though as of now I don't think there are any prizes involved - but who needs prizes when the end result will be life-changing? The challenge is to lose 50 pounds (or whatever you need to lose) by Christmas. Difficult? Probably. Attainable? Most definitely.

I'm going to be participating in this challenge, and I encourage any and all of you who feel you could use some motivation to join up too. She'll be closing the private group that houses the challenge tomorrow, so you'll have to join quick, but I'm quite sure it won't be something you'll regret.

Link to the FB page: https://www.facebook.com/ofcourseiwantcake
Link to the challenge group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/531728550287413/

I'll be using this thread to update you all on my progress once a week, and I think it'd be magnificent if others joined in. If there's one thing I learned from losing the weight once before, it's that doing it is much easier when you've got support. We're a tight community capable of incredible things, and this endeavor could only strengthen that.

Preemptive warning: This is not a thread to be trolling in, or making fun of people. I will personally be handing out bans to any who break this rule, as the subject material is not the character, but the player.

MoireanLimPiperAryanneNola
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Comments

  • edited June 2014
    To make things a little easier, I'm going to recommend a format that I know I'll be using for sure. Once a week, on the same day each week (probably a Sunday because it's a nice way to wrap up the week) I'll make a post similar to the following. Please feel free to join in so that I'm not the only one!

    Weekly Wrap-up:

    Weight lost: x pounds

    Downside of the week: What you believe was the hardest struggle during the week that just recently came to end. Had a hard time getting up to go for a run? Couldn't resist some pizza? It happens to the best of us, but here's the place to admit it. You won't make any progress without acknowledging your mistakes!

    Upside of the week: What was the best part of the week? Make an especially delicious meal that was good for you? Your favorite shirt doesn't feel as tight? Get a compliment from somebody? Here's the place to tell us all about it.

    Status of last week's goal: Did you accomplish the goal that you set for yourself last week? Pretty self-explanatory.

    Goal for next week: This is where you'll place your goal for the upcoming week. Have a specific number of pounds you'd like to lose? Aspire to run 3 days out of the week instead of your current 2? You want these goals to be specific, measurable, and attainable.


    Remember here that honesty is the most important thing. You don't have to say anything you're not comfortable with either, there'll be no pressure.

    Who's in?

  • JensenJensen Corruption's Butcher
    Of course I'm eating cool ranch doritos when you post this
    image
    SlypheOmeiHavenAryanneErzsebetTragerNolaEydis
  • Update: She's looking for everybody to have a partner, or group in this to try and get everybody motivated. If we could get a couple of us together to go for this, we could have our own Aetolian group!

    That said, even if you don't like the page/join the challenge on FB, we can still have our own version here.

  • I don't want to lose 50 pounds, but I'd be up for losing, say, 20.

    PiperNola
  • I am up for this and for being in a group to try to stay motivated. The last few years have been rough ones and I could use all the help I can get turning them around. Thank you for posting this!
  • PiperPiper Master Crumbs
    I don't think I've got fifty pounds on me to lose but I'll join in like how Xenia said and aim for twenty. :)
    image
    XeniaNolaColette
  • TeaniTeani Shadow Mistress Sweden
    I'll join in and see how well I do!



  • I could tooootally use to lose 50ish. /me joins
    Wait. How do I join? Other than, just, clicking "join group"?

  • Once you click 'join group' you're in! I think she's going to ask then who's considered to be in a group, so we'll have to find each other, but we can wait and see what she says.

    Aryanne
  • I've probably got a good 15/20 to lose myself, so I'm in! We'll see how this goes.
  • Not applicable for me, but sending good thoughts your ways. Good luck guys and girls!!
  • Alright, the group on FB has been closed now to new members by its creator, so if you didn't request to be in it, you've missed your chance! For those of you that did make it, shoot me a PM with your name so we can friend up and post on the group's wall letting her know we're a team.

    As for everybody else, the competition will officially begin after this Sunday! The following Sunday you'll owe a weekly wrap-up post, so get all of your crazy urges and cravings out of the way before Monday!

  • aww i missed getting in on the group. Can we some how make it available through Aetolia so we don't have to operate through Facebook. I'd rather keep my FB private anyway.

  • AarbrokAarbrok Breaking things...For Science San Diego, CA
    I was at work, but I did get in on the group....so I will be joining you @Slyphe‌ , I could go for losing a bit more. So this is a good opportunity
    Slyphe
  • Xenia said:

    aww i missed getting in on the group. Can we some how make it available through Aetolia so we don't have to operate through Facebook. I'd rather keep my FB private anyway.

    Absolutely. Those of us that were fine with the FB group and got in will just act as a team on there, but we can coordinate the Aetolian version right here in this thread!

  • TeaniTeani Shadow Mistress Sweden
    I'll have some trouble reporting progress during the first few weeks due to me being abroad working, but I'll be trying my best to keep track on my progress anyway.



    Aryanne
  • Alright ladies and gents, we've reached our first Sunday, completing one week! Let's see some posts!

    Weekly Wrap-up:

    Weight lost: 4 pounds

    Downside of the week: 4th of July. I swear I did so well the entire first part of the week, but once I had cookouts to be going to on the 4th it got obliterated. Friday, and the following Saturday I ate like absolute crap with no regard for anything.

    Upside of the week: I'm trying to eliminate carbs as best I can, since that's what worked the best for me last time. This week my mom (who's doing the same challenge) made spaghetti, but instead of noodles chopped up cauliflower for the texture.

    Let me just say that I hate vegetables with a passion, barring a few, but holy crap this was amazing. Will definitely be making this for myself at some point.

    Status of last week's goal: I... forgot to have people set a goal last week! So, this isn't applicable.

    Goal for next week: I'm going to set my goal at losing 3 pounds this week. Additionally, I'd like to get out at least one time to go running.

    I didn't go out at all to exercise last week, and that's pretty crappy. There's no excuse to not find at least one day a week to go for a decent run.



    Everybody else, make sure to update us!

    AryanneMoireanEmelle
  • Weight lost: Well, ten days and (I think my scale is maybe broken, cause this just seems unreasonable) 6 pounds down. I've been trying really hard to drink plenty of water, weighing myself AFTER chugging 2 glasses each time, at the same time of day, so I don't think it's dehydration weight loss

    Downside of the week: Had a combo of "a little sick" and "way hungover" that lead me to not exercise for 2 days. :(

    Upside of the week: Started using My Fitness Pal and it really is working awesome for me! I can update it super easy no matter where I am out to eat, and it calculates exercise in as well to both track it, and balance it against your caloric intake! Pretty darn impressed with myself that, even with my drinking binge, I managed to stay under the "caloric intake goal" I was going for!

    Status of last week's goal: I had a goal to exercise every day in THIS thing, but skipped several cause of feeling ill/hungover. Also had a goal to eat more veggies and not eat out, and I managed those awesomely. Sooo.. 50/50?

    Goal for next week: My goal: add daily walking/tiny bit of jogging to my tiny "workout", stretch every day, and continue to track my intake so that I can keep at the caloric-intake I need to get down to healthy-ness.

    WOO! Bring it on, week two! We can do it!

    MoireanEmelle
  • EmelleEmelle Dreamshaper Tecpatl's Cradle
    @Slyphe: Spaghetti squash makes a decent sub for noodles, too! The texture is different, so if you're sensitive to that it might seem weird, but it pretty much absorbs the flavor of whatever you put it in.
    Trager
  • Weekly Wrap-up:

    Weight lost: 3 pounds, 47 pounds to go!

    Downside of the week: I didn't do anything for Canada day, but my daughter is still sick, so no one but mommy is good enough. My normally sleep deprived state was even worse, which meant even less motivation.

    Upside of the week: I did eat more fruits and veggies then usual and drink more water. And I did brew some green tea and freeze it in muffin tins. Put one giant tea cube in a glass (with a slice of lemon if desired), add water and as you drink all the water, add more! I can drink 3 glasses of water this way before it all melts, it's nicely refreshing when you want a difference from just plain water.

    Status of last week's goal: Didn't really have one. I did think on how I want to tackle things though. I want to concentrate more on building good habits that will help in the long run.

    Goal for next week: The goal for this next week is continuing to drink more water, trying for 8 or more glasses and making sure to go for a walk each day.

    I saw the person that posted on facebook with the hanger and rings of paper to represent pounds. I am going to make myself one of these! Then I can buy something pretty when it's empty.
  • Ianea said:

    I saw the person that posted on facebook with the hanger and rings of paper to represent pounds. I am going to make myself one of these! Then I can buy something pretty when it's empty.

    That's a super cute idea. I've gained a bit of weight since moving from an 'always on my feet' job to a sedentary desk job... I want to trim it off again, and ideas like this might help keep me focused.
  • Ianea said:

    Weekly Wrap-up:

    Upside of the week: I did eat more fruits and veggies then usual and drink more water. And I did brew some green tea and freeze it in muffin tins. Put one giant tea cube in a glass (with a slice of lemon if desired), add water and as you drink all the water, add more! I can drink 3 glasses of water this way before it all melts, it's nicely refreshing when you want a difference from just plain water.

    This sounds like an amazing idea. I'm going to be too busy moving this week, so my cooking stuff will be packed up, but as soon as I'm in the new place I'll be trying this.

    I also saw somebody on the FB page post about taking a few hours to chop up a ton of chicken, add a bunch of spices/sauces, put them in the gallon-sized ziplock bags, then throw them into the freezer. During the week when they're ready to make dinner, they just empty the already-made-meal into the crock pot and let it cook.

    With as busy as I am with work, this sounds like a fantastic idea that I'm pretty sure I'm going to be trying as well. It's so easy to cook chicken a hundred different ways too!

  • TeaniTeani Shadow Mistress Sweden
    So, as I'm not at home and always busy working abroad, I don't have a scale, so I have no updates to give you in regards to actual loss or gain.

    Downside: I swear on all things sacred, my work has placed me with one of Bournemouth's best cooks, which basically means I get lots and lots and lots of good food every day. <.<

    Upside: I move around more than usual and I get regular meals, which has always been an issue for me. I usually eat only once a day, but now I get breakfast (toast), lunch (usually some kind of fresh fruit mix) and dinner (today it was lamb, potatoes and gravy <.<) at regular times, which has to count for something.

    One and a half week to go before I'm home and can check the scale. Before then, possible musical in London!



  • Faerah said:

    Ianea said:

    I saw the person that posted on facebook with the hanger and rings of paper to represent pounds. I am going to make myself one of these! Then I can buy something pretty when it's empty.

    That's a super cute idea. I've gained a bit of weight since moving from an 'always on my feet' job to a sedentary desk job... I want to trim it off again, and ideas like this might help keep me focused.
    image

    Tada! I'm still not sure what I'm going to do with the pounds lost papers. I'd like to keep them on display somehow to show how much I've lost. I threw them on the clothes peg underneath for now.
    SlypheEmelleAryanneHaven
  • That is awesome! Good job!

  • Weight lost: I'm at almost same weight I was at last week, but it has been staying STEADY at ticking down a tiny bit, I feel confident that the 183.5 is claims is legit

    Downside of the week: Got lazy and really didn't feel like cooking a couple days so went out for food a couple times and for desert a couple time :( I was relatively careful about WHAT I ate for the legit meals, but totally splurged on desert sugary tastiness.

    Upside of the week: Kept up keeping records and -resisted- the urge to go eat out a couple times! Having large servings of veggies with everything makes it so much more filling without being caloric-ly heavy

    Status of last week's goal: Totally crapped out on regular walking. UG! Seriously need to kick myself in the ass to get more exercise in. oi! Definitely what I'm the worst at so far. Erg!

    Goal for next week: WALKING. Erg! Weather is supposed to be great. Need to exercise more during this awesome time!

    IaneaSlyphe
  • Weight lost: 1 pound, 46 pounds to go!

    Downside of the week: It has been ridiculously hot (for where I live) so the idea of cooking, walking and sleep has been 'ugh'. Plus we had a picnic event and my dad came to visit, which meant things like pizza, burgers and left over pizza. And my husband made the most delicious ribs in the smoker.

    Upside of the week: It's so hot, so I've been guzzling water.

    Status of last week's goal: I definitely made the water goal, and then some. I've also been limiting any sort of juice or pop to a single glass in a day. The walk thing didn't pan out, it's just so awful outside and inside and everywhere.

    Goal for next week: The goal for this next week is to kick my butt out and go for a walk, either early or late in the day when it isn't so hot.
    AryanneSlyphe
  • Oof, a day late! I apologize! Yesterday I got off work, then went to clean/pack my apartment I was moving out of for 10 hours, so when I got home I went straaaaight to bed. That said, I was pretty shocked when I weighed myself this morning.


    Weekly Wrap-up:

    Weight lost: 10 pounds

    Downside of the week: Between acquiring a new job while still working two others and having to clean/pack an entire apartment on my own because my unicorns unicornsing mother unicorn HNNG roommate left me to do it all on my own, I didn't get to go running this week like I had intended. I mean, going up and down flights of steps with heavy stuff all week is evidently still productive enough, but I still would have liked to at least begin that habit.

    Upside of the week: We've got a few here!

    1) I have no idea how I lost 10 pounds whatsoever. I don't remember being explicitly hard on myself with what I chose to eat, but I guess when I did grab a meal between jobs and stuff I chose healthier options. I admittedly dropped to a meal a day just about from being so busy, which isn't really healthy, but I'll work on that.

    2) I got a new job! The cool thing about this is that it's managing the various dorms on campus for the rest of the summer while groups/clubs rent them out. We get a meal plan included in this, so for the rest of the summer having to stress about spending more money on better food is completely eliminated.

    3) ...Said new job is a desk job with regular hours, and is a stone's throw away from the gym that features a wonderful indoor track. There will be no being tired from work, so there's no excuse not to go run every day!


    Status of last week's goal: I didn't get to go running like I wanted, but as mentioned previously I got to clock in plenty of physical activity with moving by myself. PS: Hate steps. Haaaate.

    That said, my goal of 3 pounds lost was obliterated, so there's that.

    Goal for next week: I'm going to be cautious and aim for another 3 pounds this week, just like last week. Additionally, I'd like to go an entire week without any sugary sweets.

    Why is this an issue only this week?

    Well you see, while my lease is up for the next 10 days I'll be staying back home with my parents until the new one starts. I have a six year old sister and a grandmother at this house who both absolutely love candy/cookies/all that happy horse crap. None for me this week!


    Total pounds lost: 14

    Pounds remaining: 36


    Comments while I'm here:


    @Aryanne:

    Having a large portion of vegetables with your meals is awesome and does fill you up for sure! Good job! I would suggest also just before your dinner is done, or while you're cooking it (even better) that you try and drink a whole cup of water. I used to run into the issue of being a fast eater, so I'd eat a lot more because it takes time until you get that full feeling.

    Drinking a cup of water before I ate, or taking a sip between every bite or two completely eliminated this horrible habit, and I found myself eating significantly less because I was full much more quickly!

    @Ianea:

    Have you ever considered trying a low carb diet? That's what I used the first time I lost a bunch of weight, and by the sounds of the stuff you're cooking it'd fit pretty well. When it comes to burgers or sandwiches I'd take to leaves of iceberg lettuce and use them instead of bread, and you'd be surprised how much that does for the texture. It's no bun, mind you, but it's certainly a valid alternative.

    When it comes to ribs and the likes you could eat what you'd like of those, you'd just want to try spying around for a barbecue sauce that's low in sugar and carbs. My mom's boyfriend is going without carbs too since my mom is doing this challenge as well, and he made the best ribs I've ever had the other night in his smoker. Yuuum. I'd have to try and find out what brand of sauce they used though.




    You guys are doing an absolutely fantastic job. Remember that this is a marathon, not a sprint! We'll all run into some road blocks along the way, but don't let them stop the momentum completely!

  • @slyphe - totally agree with the water guzzling thing! That's pretty much the only thing I drink (aside from weekly booze and daily coffee) I'm -usually- pretty conscious about chugging a glass or two of water before I start cooking, and yeah, totally makes me less likely to gorge myself when portions aren't forcibly controlled (like lunch where I ONLY have as much as I brought). I'm generally pretty well hydrated, cause I have a cup at work that I'm constantly refilling and slurping down

    As a side note, I'm really loving that my method of food-control is largely based on not going out to lunch while at work. This both cuts a LOT of the calories I was taking in before as well as a LOT of my extra spending that I've been trying to curb lately. Massively win-win!

    @Inaea Maaan, I know what you mean by the hot thing :( That's been part of my problem with eating out this week too. It hasn't been crazy hot, but for HERE, it's been really hot, haha. And I live in a studio, so just having anything heated up for a little while the WHOLE place gets hot fast. -- And then trying to encourage myself to go WALK? Yeeaaahhh....

    I live across the street from my old high school (which is a bit strange, but whatever) so there's a SUPER convenient place for me to go walking / running (they have all the standard sports fields and track and whatever, even a paved mile-long walkway circumventing the whole field area) but with my tendency to burn, I have to slather myself up with sunscreen for, like, 10 minutes and then I get all disheartened, *whine whine bitch moan excuses excuses* Need to get over that :(

  • @Slyphe: I've done low carb before and I've always fell off the wagon spectacularly, so to speak. As you said, it's a marathon and I'm in it to build healthy habits that will persist even once I've lost the weight I want to this time. Which means one or two small changes at a time and so far I've been happy with myself in this regard.

    @Aryanne: I totally get the frustration of sunscreen! I'm a very fair person myself (I have actually burned through clouds in winter before) and currently I'm on some medication that increases my sensitivity to sunlight. (spf 60 for me!)

    If either of you are interested, I dusted off my old Runkeeper account. It's great for tracking walks/running/workouts in general and setting both short term and long term goals. If you set one up send me a PM and we can friend each other for greater encouragement!

    And since I set it up again, it has encouraged me to go for a walk right now, heat or no heat! Wish me luck, if I don't come back I'm a puddle on the sidewalk somewhere.
    Aryanne
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