Project 400 Days

P400D

New member
Hi all, this is my first post here on this board, but I have been lurking here for a year or so. I've finally, firmly set a goal in my mind, so I decided I better just register and jump right in already.

My goal is to be much healthier, more fit, and hopefully very close to my goal weight in 400 days. Specifically, I have the 400 days prior to my 30th birthday to achieve this. Technically, I've got 362 days til my goal deadline. I should have started this journal about 38 days ago if I really wanted to keep track of my 400 day goal since my 29th birthday was 3 days ago. But in my defense, I did start really working on this "project" at the beginning of the 400 days.

Since I started I've had couple good weeks and a couple not so good weeks. I am about 4 lbs lighter than I was when I started. Which is great considering that in those 30 odd days I've had a week long vacation in Las Vegas, 2 separate Thanksgiving celebrations, and my birthday party. I'm hoping that I can stay motivated and have more good weeks to come.

Oh... some stats...

I'm 5'2". I have 2 kids, a soon to be 5 yr old & soon to be 2 yr old. At my highest weight, the day I was released from the hospital after giving birth to my 2nd child, I was 191 lbs. I have dropped a tiny bit of weight in the past couple years, but nothing like I expected to which is why I started this project. The thought of starting my 30s in the worse shape of my life is simply depressing and I will not let it happen.


Project 400 Starting Weight : 183.4

Current (11/29/2010) Weight : 178.6

Maximum Goal Weight : 135 (That would bring me into the high end of the healthy BMI range for my height. I'd love to ultimately go lower than that if my body will let me)


So there it is. I'll be weighing in every Monday evening at my Weight Watchers meetings. I'll probably be updating this journal at least every Monday night or Tuesday morning. I can't wait to be able to look back at this and be proud of my progress. =D I'll try to take some "Before" pictures this weekend and get them posted up here.
 
The past week has been kinda strange because the new WW points plan. All my custom foods that I've entered into the tracker in the past were now void. Often times I would throw away the packaging before checking the new nutrients needed for the pointsplus calculation. I'd then get frustrated and be too lazy to look it up online. So I'd just stop tracking. Not a smart move. I knew that I didn't do very well all week and the scale would show it.

My weigh in was today and sure enough it wasn't great. I gained 0.4, putting me back up to 179.0 Ugh. I really don't want to see the 180s ever again, so I better get it together. I know that as long as I track consistently, I lose.

So in hopes that it'll motivate me to track 100% this coming week, I volunteered to take the "roaming tracker" for my meeting group. It's basically a food journal that goes to a different group member each week. It's supposed to help the person stay accountable since essentially someone else will be looking at your intake. Also, you can get ideas from other members because you can see how they spent their daily point allowance. You might find new foods or combinations of food that you hadn't thought of before.

This roaming tracker is brand new since we just all switched over to the new PointsPlus program. I won't be able to gain any insight from other members, but I'm hoping that I can start the tracker strong. I'm going to try to have as near a perfect on plan week as possible, at least food-wise since I haven't quite figured out a workout schedule yet.
 
I have been doing really well this week. I've tracked every single bite of food that has entered my mouth since Monday morning. I've been mostly avoiding red meat and consuming chicken or fish once a day. Lots of veggies and fruits through out the day is really keeping me satisfied. I'm already feeling better. My energy is back up and the bloat is pretty much gone.

Fridays & weekends are usually my downfall, but I'm actually holding it together. I'm halfway through my Saturday and still haven't veered off course. I even had a small planned splurge last night for dinner & another one today for lunch.

I'm learning that I really need to calculate and track food before I even let it touch my lips. I get myself into trouble when I try to guesstimate as I eat. I just need to learn how to stay motivated. My track record is usually 2 or 3 weeks on plan and then I get complacent and fall off. Gotta make sure I don't let myself do that this time around.
 
Heya! just found your diary! wow good on you!
I love seeing people come in with realistic goals and realistic diets etc. Just wondering though. why the avoiding the meats? were they causing you some problems or something?

Also, are you replacing them with some other form of protein like nuts or something? (im curious here thats all ... ok nosey even lol)

I have to agree about weekends, the problem is the schedule changes which makes it harder.
I do exercise on the weekdays and take the weekend of which helps, and work around the schedule changes. Also my meals are different, mostly the timing (brunch, afternoon tea etc lol). The main thing is that I have stopped doing the over-indulging over the weekends which i used to do more.
 
Hey there

I love the idea of a 'roaming tracker', it'll be good to revisit it when some others have entered data as well.

Looks like you've got a good goal and are off to a great start well done... see you around.


anna
 
Good luck, and you've got plenty of time to do this in. Planning what to eat before eating is a great idea and something I could do with paying more attention to myself.
 
Thanks to everyone who has stopped by my diary and left messages. It's nice to know someone is actually reading this and that my approach isn't totally unreasonable.

For wishes, who asked about why I started avoiding red meat... Well, I started noticing I would feel kinda lethargic or weighed down after eating a meal with red meat, even if it was lean red meat. I also noticed that I don't feel that way with chicken or seafood. I'm not completely banning red meat from my diet. Just limiting it since I know it doesn't make me feel that great after I eat it. And yes, in addition to the chicken and seafood, I'm consuming more tofu and small portions of nuts. I think I'm pretty covered on my protein consumption. =)

On December 13th, I had another WW weight in and lost another 4.6 lbs. I think my success is really due to the roaming tracker helping me be 100% accountable and forcing me to make the switch to the new PointsPlus program.

However, this week has been rough. Lots of work parties, family parties, and general celebrations. I'm doing much better than I would have before I committed myself to losing weight and getting healthier, but I'm still over even my weekly point allowance. I have one more big family party tomorrow that I'm really nervous about. Then another weigh in on Monday. I have no idea what the scale will say because it's been such a mixed week, but I'll be back to record it here.
 
That's a fantastic loss! Well done :)
I hope you get to enjoy the family doo, and best of luck for Monday's weigh in.
 
Xmas parties and the pressure are hard to deal with eh? I went to one yesterday, usually i keep something healthy in my bag but i totally forgot. Luckily i found some edible fruit and veg quiche i was able to eat ok.
stick through it over xmas! you can do it!
 
Woo hoo!! Another weight in and another 2.6 lbs down. If I can lose 2.6 lbs on a week where I had 4 food heavy parties, I can surely make it through this week with another loss. Yeah, this week is Christmas, but it's only 2 days of food craziness verses last week's 4 days of craziness. I'm really starting to believe that I can get through Christmas and the rest of holidays and end with a smaller number than I started.

I'll be aiming for at least maintenance for this coming week, but if I can get myself out of the 170s I'd be super excited. I just might be able to do it considering I'm off work and have scheduled in a little extra exercise in preparation for indulging on Christmas Eve & Christmas. *crossing my fingers*

Oh and today I put a shirt on that I had shoved into the back of my closet about 7 or 8 months ago because it looked ridiculously tight on me. Well, it fits great now. Yay! I can't wait until it's too big. ;)
 
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So it's been 3 weeks since my last check in here. I've lost another 0.8 lbs in that time. Yeah, I wish it was more, but at least I'm still moving in the right direction. I really want to break out of the 170s. I'm hoping it doesn't take me more than 2 weeks to do it.

My food intake is still the same. Counting Weight Watcher PointsPlus. Eating lots of veggies and fruits, lean proteins, avoiding fast food. I feel like I'm doing pretty well with it. I'm not prefect, but at least I'm not eating myself into my fat pants.

What is new is that I've started running. I hate running... or let me rephrase... I used to hate running. I don't love running, but I am finding bearable. Shockingly, more and more frequently I even find it enjoyable. I set a goal for the month of logging in at least 6 miles per week (or a total for the month of at least 24-25 miles) Last week I ended up getting 9.5 miles in. I'm a bit more busy this week, so I'm thinking I'll just be able to hit my 6 mile goal and not much more.

I'm really starting to feel a difference in my runs. My stamina is increasing. I can run for longer periods of time before needing to take a walking break. My pace when I am running is faster than just a couple weeks ago. At the end of a 30 minute run/jog/walk, instead of feeling like I'm going to pass out, I honestly feel like I could go for more (if only my cramped schedule would allow it)

A coworker asked me if I'd be interested in walking a casual half marathon with her in April... it's crazy that I'm actually considering it. Not only am I considering it, I'm considering running parts instead of just walking the whole thing like she plans.

But let's take this one step at a time. Let's see if I can finish the C25k program. I'm currently on Week 3. I think a couple more runs at this level and I'll be ready to try and tackle Week 4. I've tried to do C25k in the past and never got past Week 3, but honestly this time around feels different. Everything feels better, more do-able. We'll see what I'm saying in another week or two. Hahaha.
 
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