now at 79% of their goal

Total weight lost is now 609 pounds! Average is 6.3 pounds.

• Did meal prep for the week today for lunches. Sweet potato and black bean taco bowls (with a corn salsa) over brown rice.
  
  Meal prepping helps me by keeping me accountable, counting calories easily, and saving money! Anyone else meal prep?
  
  
  I also made salmon teriyaki bowls for dinner (that's the pic). Served over brown rice with edamame, avocado, carrots, and cucumber. I have extra salmon marinating for tomorrow.
  

• Week 7: You aren't losing weight.
  
  This is a harsh reality for me. I look at the scale and see it stop on a number. My mind goes in to solution mode!
  
  SOLUTION?:
  
  Cut more calories!
  
  This might seem like the best idea, but sometimes it is not. That's because our weight doesn't just come from fat.
  
  THE QUESTION:
  
  I know this is something we all probably know but we forget it so easily. Have you ever lost weight and you feel like your body looks exactly the same? This is because your fat/muscle ratio remained relatively similar. Being in an extreme calorie deficit will shrink you down! However it likely won't achieve the body and fitness goals many of us have in mind.
  
  HOW TO FIX THIS:
  
  I highly suggest incorporating some body weight exercises. Pushups are great! If you can't do pushups, do modified pushups. You can do them in your knees or on an incline. You can do partial range of motion to get started. You can do a negative movement (Only controlling your weight downward).
  
  REMEMBER:
  
  If you're working out, eating healthy, getting good sleep and the scale isn't moving, you're likely going through a body recomposition. If your ratio of muscle to fat is improving, this requires the adding of weight (Muscle) to your body. Don't fear the scale staying the same if you're doing all the right things. Focus on doing the right things and track more progress than just scale progress.
  

now at 76% of their goal

Total weight lost is now 528 pounds! Average is 5.4 pounds.

Total weight lost is now 519 pounds! Average is 5.3 pounds.

• Week 6: I've been dieting and working out all wrong.
  
  This is maybe the 4th time in my life that I've attempted to get in to better shape.
  
  HIGH SCHOOL: Simply run 100+ miles a week! (Not joking)
  
  I was a cross country runner on a team that placed at states regularly. It wasn't uncommon for us to literally run a marathon on the weekend to train in the off season. Little did I know it but all this impact did a number on my hips. I started to feel this when I got to college and my hips hurt just walking around.
  
  COLLEGE: Lift really heavy weights!
  
  Nothing wrong with lifting but this was all I focused on. I drank, played video games all day, and had a horrible diet. I'd then go to the gym and lift for a bit to add on some muscle. I was stronger but I was tired more often.
  
  YOUNG ADULT ME: Just don't eat!
  
  As I reached my adult life, I started to put on a few extra pounds. Well what's the easiest way to lose them? Just don't eat! It worked too well. I went from 6'3 220 to 6'3 155. I reached that point again where I felt less energy and my sleep was off.
  
  ME NOW: Balance your life and lose weight slowly from everything you've learned.
  
  About midway through December I realized I was doing it again. I was not eating enough I had dropped from 203 down to 193 in a matter of weeks. My ideal body is lean with muscle around 180 pounds. This is not obtainable if I starve myself and get extremely skinny again. I keep repeating to myself that all then changes I've put in my life are ones I need to sustain for the rest of my life. A slightly calorie deficit of 300 calories should shed around 3 pounds a month. Strength training will hopefully add an addition 0.25-0.5 pound of muscle a month. I keep reminding myself not to focus on the scale and focus on what matters.
  
  Am I sleeping well?
  Is it easier to move during the day?
  Do I have energy?
  Do I feel happy?
  
  If the answer to all these are YES then to quote a famous man, "It doesn't matter", what the scale says.
  

• "Think about how healthy you already are."
  
  I'm working through a 30 day yoga class for beginners, I'm on day 12. We were setting up eagle pose and I don't have the strength and/or flexibility to pull it off. I'm standing there on one leg with my body all wrapped around it's self as best as I can. My mind is focused on I'm not flexible enough to get there, I'm so out of shape... and Eliz says this "... really press down and think about how healthy you already are" what a shift in mindset! I feel like I just had a breakthrough with a therapist. I'm balancing there all twisted up with a "I can't do this mentality" and then there is a shift to "I can almost do an Eagle pose!"
  
  https://www.amazon.com/gp/video/detail/B08P421WD2/ref=atv_dp_share_cu_r