Weight Loss & Hair Growth Challenge 2012 Q1

[ebsalita]

Hey MangaManiac

I'm only using Organic Root Stimulator Olive Oil Moisturiser - it was my very last drop so I didn't use much at all, - in fact I was about to try another moisturiser because I was finding it could get heavy but wow - boy am I glad I tried something new!

As for heat protector I use Urban Fudge Straight Stuff - I don't know whether this is available in the states smells great and get's my hair straight yet protected with minimum fuss. I love JOhn Frieda products, so I'm feeling you on that... good to share

Hey ebsalita,

I've been doing the moisturizer before blow dry for a while and it really DOES make a difference! I also run a dime size amount of heat protector through four sections of hair focusing on the ends and this has really helped with retention. I use Redken Anti-snap leave-in and John Frieda heat protector and my hair really stays soft and moisturized (even when I air dry and wrap for the night)! Let me know what products you're using!

 

[Ms_CoCo37]

:creaturesDancing my way into the thread! After two weeks of consecutive gains, I've FINALLY scored a loss! Here are my stats:

01/01/12 - 201.2
01/09/12 - 202.8 (+1.6)
01/16/12 - 203.8 (+1.0)
01/27/12 - 198.6 (-5.2)


So base on my post below, Fridays will definitely be my WI day! I am REALLY happy with my little experiment.

Morning!

I didn't get to check in last week, but I did WI. Here are my stats thus far:

01/01/12 - 201.2
01/09/12 - 202.8 (+1.6)
01/16/12 - 203.8 (+1.0)

Total gain so far is 2.6 lbs.

I believe the last gain was due to bloating and water weight (and my run in with chocolate). I think I'm going to change my WI day to Fridays. I'll WI this Friday and log any changes.

On the hair front, I've been a true mixologist lately. I have a yummy shea butter and oil mix that I absolutely love! I made a successful batch of flaxseed gel with Lavender EO. I'm also going to attempt to make a homemade mudwash. My plan is to do a mud wash and an install of mini twists on my hair. We shall see.

Hope everyone is doing well!

 

[ebsalita]

MangaManiac



Wonderful news - you sound over the moon and rightly so!

 

[SkySurfer]

Quick update..I've fallen slightly off track, what with my birthday and people making me cake.. LOL
But I am not going to let it stop me like it has done in the past..Im going to get right back to cleaning up my diet and not have my past 'all-or-nothing' diet attitude..this is a lifestyle..so that means it's impossible to fail unless i give up completely..
So....
onwards we march, ladies haha!!

 

[Kerryann]

why is the scale always looking at me uuuuugggghhhhh step on step on smdh

the good news is people keep saying i lost weight..... now on to the hair i've been taking nioxin and hairfinity along with some regular green vitamins lets see how my hair turns out in June
for the record i feel like im at an awkward stage with my hair...

 

[NJoy]

Happy Birthday SkySurfer

 

[ebsalita]

SkySurfer

You're totally allowed to give yourself a little slack - HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

Quick update..I've fallen slightly off track, what with my birthday and people making me cake.. LOL
But I am not going to let it stop me like it has done in the past..Im going to get right back to cleaning up my diet and not have my past 'all-or-nothing' diet attitude..this is a lifestyle..so that means it's impossible to fail unless i give up completely..
So....
onwards we march, ladies haha!!

 

[SkySurfer]

SkySurfer

You're totally allowed to give yourself a little slack - HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

Happy Birthday SkySurfer

Woooo! Thank you

 

[SkySurfer]

Starting the day off with a nice smoothie! It contains:
Rice Milk
A banana
A Kiwi
Soy Protein
Apple Juice
and a carrot
Yum

 

[Kerryann]

did some twist in my hair last night and realize that one side is longer than the other pissed off smdh by a 1/2 inch

 

[mEmYSELFaNDj]

Hey ladies I didnt check in last week I was a lil discouraged because I gained..... again. But im happy to report this week I lost a few lbs. My last check in two weeks ago I was 152. And today I'm 148.6 Yaay me. I've just been drinking a lot of water with lemon. Cutting out the fast food. And upping the protein. I haven't worked out. Next week I'm going to start the HCG protocol. Hopefully with that I'll drop lbs quickly.

Eta: Oh and my hair has been cornrowed for the last 5wks. I've been wearing a upart wig with minimal leave out. It feels like I have a little over half an inch new growth so far.

 

[Renewed1]

Well, when I started this challenge I was 213 now I'm 206.5!!!!! (I'm on my period so I'll weigh again in another week).

Yeah Yeah!!! That's a whooping 6.5 pounds LOST!!!

eta: I've been a little lazy with my hair this week. About to rectify that today.

Lost another 1 pound.....I'm 205!

I will weigh myself in another week or two.

Hair is doing pretty well since I found this youtube channel. Her PS is off the chain and for the most part easy.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WzCQ4T1MIo4&feature=context&context=G24d59d6FUAAAAAAADAA

 

[4changeisgood2]

Hello All,

Here is my weekly update:

I'm still losing weight which is great! For the past 4 weeks I've focused mostly on my eating habits and figuring out what works for me and what doesn't. Still floundering here and there but trying to ensure that I stick with it and eat what I'm supposed to 98% of the time and also still allow myself treats once or twice a week being careful not to undo any hard work I'd already put in. And not having treats several times a day as I may have previously done.

This weekend, I was really nervous because my scale was playing with me. Even if I got on and off the scale 7 times in a row, I'd get a different number, and the variance would be crazy like up to 5 lbs This made me anxious and question the progress I thought I had made during the week. This motivated me to get up on Sunday morning at 6:30 a.m before my weekly weigh-in at ww to get in a work-out. I was determined to be down this week, and I wasn't going to be set up by a faulty scale. Anyway, although I couldn't finish the work-out I did some of it and that was more that I have done since, too long. It was enough to make me want to do better and go longer the next time. So I'm going to try to do a little more each time so I can finish the work-out and keep up with the instructor in the near future.

Turns out I was 3.6 lbs down this week! WhoooooHooo, and that my scale had been sitting on a portion of the floor that wasn't totally level, causing an inconsistency in the reading. Needless to say I moved the dang scale to a level location.

Total Tracking so far:
Weekly Weigh-in results/BMI:
Weigh-In 1/1/12 - 254.0 - BMI - 36.4 (starting weight)
Weigh-In 1/8/12 - 248.4 - BMI - 35.6 (input incorrectly in my initial post.) (down 5.6 pounds)
Weigh-In 1/15/12 - 246.4 - BMI - 35.4 (input incorrectly in my initial post.) (down 2 pounds)
Weigh-In 1/22/12 - 245.2 - BMI - 35.2 (down 1.2 pounds)
Weigh-In 1/29/12 - 241.6 - BMI - 34.7 (down 3.6) (Total January weight loss 12.4 lbs)

Thank you All for the Support,
GonnaBMe1st

 

[NJoy]

My waist down another inch!

 

[MangaManiac]

I'm so glad that I'm back down in the low 180s again after the holiday gain! I'm at 182.6 and I plan on knocking that 2.6 off THIS week. I'm about to put my clothes on to go to the gym after I type this and take my OxyElite Pro. Everything is starting to fit better and I bought a size 4/6 dress that I can hopefully wear to reunions or at least for next Fall. Its gorgeous and I WILL look amazing in (and out of) it!

Also ebsalita, I am from the States, but I'm living in London right now for grad school, so I am definitely going to look for that heat protector!

 

[ebsalita]

MangaManiac

Aah - so you're in London, check out Superdrug - that's where I got mine from - I don't recall ever seeing in Boots. The bottle is bright orange. HTH

I'm so glad that I'm back down in the low 180s again after the holiday gain! I'm at 182.6 and I plan on knocking that 2.6 off THIS week. I'm about to put my clothes on to go to the gym after I type this and take my OxyElite Pro. Everything is starting to fit better and I bought a size 4/6 dress that I can hopefully wear to reunions or at least for next Fall. Its gorgeous and I WILL look amazing in (and out of) it!

Also ebsalita, I am from the States, but I'm living in London right now for grad school, so I am definitely going to look for that heat protector!

 

[NJoy]

I went back and looked about my original stated weight goal of 150 lbs. I don't think I want to go that small now. I have to account for this big ol' donkey booty. and am stilll trying to build up my legs. So, I'm not sure what my weight goal should be. Maybe 155-160 would work.

I think my fitness goal will be to get my waist down to 26 (holey moley. Is that even possible?! ), assuming that looks right for my frame. This is gonna be hard because I'm trying to bulk up in muscle. So, let's just say I'd be happy with 27 but going for 26.

I'm at 29 now. Hoping to ab vacuum and waist whittle my way to 26 inches. Or whatever I have to be to look like the pic in my siggy.

 

[Chaosbutterfly]

Weighed in today at 209.8, which is like...2.2 pounds from my last check-in. It's not what I aimed for, but any loss is good, so yay me. It's also kind of crazy to finally be in the 20x's again. It's been so long since I've seen that number on the scale.

I have to do much better in February though. There's still 17.8 pounds to get off by March, so I'm setting a goal to lose 9 pounds in February. It's an ambitious goal, but I know I can at least get close. I just have to maintain focus, do what I'm supposed to be doing, and stay positive.

Also, this weekend is my birthday weekend and it's actually an important one too. So I will be checking in daily here to make sure that I don't lose my damn mind. I already know there will be dranks and cupcakes involved...probably hot wings too. Accountability is going to be a necessity.

Hairwise, things are going pretty great. Last week, I did my first cassia treatment, and it was great. My hair has been so well-behaved and glossy this past week, and I can't keep my hands out of it. If I can find time, I'll probably do another treatment this week, so the effects can start building. After a few more weeks of weekly cassia, my plan is to start cutting back to every other week for maintenance.
I also did my monthly dust last week, so my hair is a pretty happy camper right now. And when it's happy, I'm happy.

 

[ToSelahWithLove]

Did my weigh-in for the week last night -- down .5 a lb. Not the 1lb I wanted, but it's better than nothing (or a gain). lol

My water intake has been perfect (5 water bottles for 85oz a day). The best part? Drinking so much no longer makes me run to the bathroom all the time. It's been about 2 weeks, and I think my body is finally used to it. Yay!

As for the hair, I've been in these kinky twists for 6 wks, although I got the front redone at 4weeks. My goal is to make it to 8 weeks, then get senegalese twists for another 8 weeks. My only problem is that I don't moisturize enough. I've gotta make a better effort at remembering.

 

[ebsalita]

Thanks for the updates NJoy & ToSelahWithLove


HAPPY BIRTHDAY Chaosbutterfly

Enjoy the muffins and cake mmmm - it's your birthday after all, climb back on the wagon afterwards.


My update will follow shortly - I need to get off this train soon!

I went back and looked about my original stated weight goal of 150 lbs. I don't think I want to go that small now. I have to account for this big ol' donkey booty. and am stilll trying to build up my legs. So, I'm not sure what my weight goal should be. Maybe 155-160 would work.

I think my fitness goal will be to get my waist down to 26 (holey moley. Is that even possible?! ), assuming that looks right for my frame. This is gonna be hard because I'm trying to bulk up in muscle. So, let's just say I'd be happy with 27 but going for 26.

I'm at 29 now. Hoping to ab vacuum and waist whittle my way to 26 inches. Or whatever I have to be to look like the pic in my siggy.

Weighed in today at 209.8, which is like...2.2 pounds from my last check-in. It's not what I aimed for, but any loss is good, so yay me. It's also kind of crazy to finally be in the 20x's again. It's been so long since I've seen that number on the scale.

I have to do much better in February though. There's still 17.8 pounds to get off by March, so I'm setting a goal to lose 9 pounds in February. It's an ambitious goal, but I know I can at least get close. I just have to maintain focus, do what I'm supposed to be doing, and stay positive.

Also, this weekend is my birthday weekend and it's actually an important one too. So I will be checking in daily here to make sure that I don't lose my damn mind. I already know there will be dranks and cupcakes involved...probably hot wings too. Accountability is going to be a necessity.

Hairwise, things are going pretty great. Last week, I did my first cassia treatment, and it was great. My hair has been so well-behaved and glossy this past week, and I can't keep my hands out of it. If I can find time, I'll probably do another treatment this week, so the effects can start building. After a few more weeks of weekly cassia, my plan is to start cutting back to every other week for maintenance.
I also did my monthly dust last week, so my hair is a pretty happy camper right now. And when it's happy, I'm happy.

Did my weigh-in for the week last night -- down .5 a lb. Not the 1lb I wanted, but it's better than nothing (or a gain). lol

My water intake has been perfect (5 water bottles for 85oz a day). The best part? Drinking so much no longer makes me run to the bathroom all the time. It's been about 2 weeks, and I think my body is finally used to it. Yay!

As for the hair, I've been in these kinky twists for 6 wks, although I got the front redone at 4weeks. My goal is to make it to 8 weeks, then get senegalese twists for another 8 weeks. My only problem is that I don't moisturize enough. I've gotta make a better effort at remembering.

 

[ebsalita]

OK I'm back! Now for my update:

I've made it to my interim goal of 115lbs!!!
I'm so pleased with myself - I set a new goal of 112lbs today (8 stones in English money). Sitting at my desk eating a muffin and an apple to celebrate

Ok now for the hair update - good news is I found my old stylist - she went AWOL for a bit - she is AMAZING, I love her. I went for a wash and blowdry last night - came out with a trim, she showed me how to do a rollerset and then added some highlights (I've never dyed my hair before now except for dying it jet black about 15 years ago).

I thought I'd regret it but I LOVE them - should have had more and could have gone lighter. I just hope that I can still keep growing my hair now I've got colour too

(sorry no pics - I took some but they're not much good - you can't see the highlights and I think my face looks scary this week). I'll try to take some more, of the hair only - I'm having a bad face week lol lol lol

 

[Renewed1]

Update:

I've been eating clean for about 2 weeks. I lost a total of 13 pounds. I weight 200 pounds! It was easy to eat clean for 2 weeks. I did have meat today and I'm going back to eating pretty clean going forward.

My next goal weight is 180 pounds.

As for my hair, I did a coffee/tea rinse after extensive research and I had little to no shedding. This is definitely a staple product.

I'm looking into buying henna/indigo so I can color my hair.

 

[ToSelahWithLove]

I just had a super setback when taking out my kinky twists.... *tear* ... the only reason I'm not too sad is because I'm transitioning and have every intention of cutting the relaxed ends of my hair off anyway. So now I'm in a weave (the first I've had that I actually like!) and I plan to ride this out for a while.

I just hope I don't die trying to exercise with this thing on my head, cuz I def sweat in my head the most. I'ma be HOT.lol.

 

[drmuffin]

I've been kinda mia the last couple of weeks but the good news is I've lost 4 more pounds! Grand total at 11! And to be honest I didn't really do too much. erplexed

 

[NJoy]

Man, Dr Oz mentioned a supplement for shrinking fat cells called Raspberry Ketone. Let me tell you, everybody and her mama is searching for that stuff. Everywhere I call say they're out of stock and that everyone's looking for it. Is Dr. Oz the medical Oprah?

*fiending for some raspberry ketone supplements*

 

[ebsalita]

I've been kinda mia the last couple of weeks but the good news is I've lost 4 more pounds! Grand total at 11! And to be honest I didn't really do too much. erplexed

well done - that's fantastic progress - love it!

Man, Dr Oz mentioned a supplement for shrinking fat cells called Raspberry Ketone. Let me tell you, everybody and her mama is searching for that stuff. Everywhere I call say they're out of stock and that everyone's looking for it. Is Dr. Oz the medical Oprah?

*fiending for some raspberry ketone supplements*

Lol - Although I prefer the old fashioned eat less, do more, sweat a little - I've gotta say I'm intrigued... shrinks fat cells, huh? I'm going to check this out...

 

[NaturalPath]

Man, Dr Oz mentioned a supplement for shrinking fat cells called Raspberry Ketone. Let me tell you, everybody and her mama is searching for that stuff. Everywhere I call say they're out of stock and that everyone's looking for it. Is Dr. Oz the medical Oprah?

*fiending for some raspberry ketone supplements*

I've never heard of this before....hmmm...

I know I started supplementing with sea buckthorn juice since its suppose to be good for hair and skin health. I researched it last week and turns out its also good for weightloss due to the Omega 7 component preventing fat storage. Also, apparently Dr Oz recommended this supplement for weight loss so I figured that was a plus.

 

[Nightingale]

I've lost 4 lbs in about 7 days. I haven't gained any visible length in that time, but I did find a nice sulfate free shampoo.

 

[NJoy]

well done - that's fantastic progress - love it!



Lol - Although I prefer the old fashioned eat less, do more, sweat a little - I've gotta say I'm intrigued... shrinks fat cells, huh? I'm going to check this out...

ebsalita

You may be able to find the episode on demand.

He did a visual (you know he usually does ). He showed balloons being put into dry ice. It immediately shrank the balloons down. He said raspberry ketone does the same to fat cells.

Body builders have known about the stuff for years to get rid of fat but, Dr Oz mentions it and every store that sells it knows it. My local herb shop said they'll be getting more in tomorrow.

Also, in the same show, he talked about 5-day diets for different body types/problem areas. For the belly fat folks (me), he suggested a sandwich (whole wheat english muffin, poached egg, cheese, avocado, tomato and olive oil) plus take CLA supplements for 5 days. The sandwich replaces one meal.

I checked with my friend who is a dr specializing in liposculpture and weight loss. He said CLA all the way! He recommends it to all his patients before lipo. He mentioned that there is a new concept called metabolic typing. This is how Dr Oz could suggest different things based on the different problem areas.

Needless to say, I'm now taking CLA which decreases belly fat and increases lean muscle. As a bonus, it also inhibits growth and spread of cancer cells.

He also said that he's not personally familiar with raspberry ketones but is hearing that it does work. He's looking into it now for possible use in his practice.

Y'all better get ta Googling. I'm on day 2 and my belly looks and feels flatter already. No joke.

 

[ebsalita]

NJoy Thanks - Yes, I went a-googling - everyone is talking about the Dr Phil episode... and you're right - on bodybuilder.com they have been on this for years now...

I've really only got 5lbs to go until my goal weight... I had contemplated getting the pills but thinking more deeply about it, I'd rather just keep going stick to high fibre, low fat and walking and get there in a sensible and sustainable way.

ebsalita

You may be able to find the episode on demand.

He did a visual (you know he usually does ). He showed balloons being put into dry ice. It immediately shrank the balloons down. He said raspberry ketone does the same to fat cells.

Body builders have known about the stuff for years to get rid of fat but, Dr Oz mentions it and every store that sells it knows it. My local herb shop said they'll be getting more in tomorrow.

Also, in the same show, he talked about 5-day diets for different body types/problem areas. For the belly fat folks (me), he suggested a sandwich (whole wheat english muffin, poached egg, cheese, avocado, tomato and olive oil) plus take CLA supplements for 5 days. The sandwich replaces one meal.

I checked with my friend who is a dr specializing in liposculpture and weight loss. He said CLA all the way! He recommends it to all his patients before lipo. He mentioned that there is a new concept called metabolic typing. This is how Dr Oz could suggest different things based on the different problem areas.

Needless to say, I'm now taking CLA which decreases belly fat and increases lean muscle. As a bonus, it also inhibits growth and spread of cancer cells.

He also said that he's not personally familiar with raspberry ketones but is hearing that it does work. He's looking into it now for possible use in his practice.

Y'all better get ta Googling. I'm on day 2 and my belly looks and feels flatter already. No joke.