Tracking Your Progress: Journey to Weight Loss Success

The ladies are halfway through their weight loss journey, and many are seeing real progress both mentally and physically with significant weight loss this week.

We’ve just welcomed a new team member, FB3 [Fitness Buddy 3]. She’s cute, fit, and though we might be tempted to be envious, her sweetness makes us use her as motivation instead. Balancing life with three young kids and a full-time job doesn’t keep her from staying active for 45 minutes a day. She’s eager to tone up and enjoys the idea of a daily 15-minute strength routine.

We’ve reached the halfway point of our challenge and are really getting into the swing of things. Exercise is turning into a habit, giving us an amazing boost of energy. Last night, I even managed to fit in a walk after work and then tackled some house cleaning, which is so unlike me! I’m back to making healthier food choices, though it frustrates me to think about the couple of pounds that crept back after I slipped up.

A pound is roughly 3,500 calories. If I hadn’t indulged in that many calories in desserts this weekend, the scale would reflect my progress. I know this simplifies things, but it’s what’s on my mind. Josh keeps telling us to let go of the past and start fresh daily, but I’m still annoyed with myself. Today, Pam and I have a workout session on top of our regular routine, hoping it helps burn off some of those extra calories.

My team is doing an excellent job sticking to the plan and staying active with 45 minutes of exercise most days. Back on the topic of desserts, FB2 noticed my struggle after I confessed to having two desserts and craving a third. She warned me not to eat that last piece of pie, but I did it anyway. I can’t seem to stop obsessing over that silly dessert. It’s time to move on, Connie! You slipped—get over it!

Starting again won’t be easy as I’m heading to Las Vegas tomorrow. It’s my first time visiting, and while I’m excited, managing my eating will be a challenge. I saw Pam at a workout class, and she’s clearly losing inches. I hope to keep encouraging her regardless of what the scale says.

FB2 shares my scale frustration, though FB1 is doing wonderfully, which reassures us that the program works. We just have to fully commit! We’ve even added another team member—our enthusiasm is spreading! Since FB3 and FB4 are just starting out, they’re not sharing their progress numbers yet.

Vegas is a whirlwind of excitement, intensity, and maybe a bit of chaos. There, I stumbled upon my favorite Disney character, Olaf. As I snapped a photo, I noticed we share a similar body shape. Luckily, braces keep us from sharing identical teeth too!

During my three days in Vegas, I logged over 50,000 steps. I made use of the hotel gym for the fitness lab, and thankfully had a rest day Saturday. Yesterday was hectic, and I missed my morning workout, so I’ll have to double up tomorrow.

On weigh-in day, I was without a scale in the morning and chose to skip it this week. My diary, my rules. Though I will admit that last Thursday, I was up 0.4 pounds. I curse those delicious pies!

Go, Pam! She was this week’s biggest achiever, dropping 2.2 pounds. FB1 also shed 1.8 pounds, reaching a total loss of 4.8 pounds, just 0.2 away from the 5-pound goal! FB2 has gained 2 pounds but refuses to give up, feeling better overall and too invested in this challenge to quit.

The saying “What happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas” is a lie. The weight I gained there followed me home! I felt bad despite eating well and exercising. That vacation mindset took over, so I gave myself a break from tracking on My Fitness Pal, only keeping a mental note of what I ate.

Today, I’m up 2 pounds, meaning I’m 4.6 pounds away from my target with just 8 days left. Reflecting on what went wrong, I realized it wasn’t the food that got me—it was the drinks, with their creamy layers and champagne adding over 3,600 calories over a few days!

It’s go-time for this final phase of the challenge. I’m gearing up to increase my cardio these last 8 days to prove to myself that I can lose weight. I typed that in all caps to really believe it.

On a positive note, my body fat percentage has dropped by 2.8%, showing I’m heading in the right direction. Let’s stay optimistic!

Eight more days to push forward and lose those 4.6 pounds—no problem!