Sole Trainers - Challenge (11/13 - 11/19)

writemusic4him

Hi Everyone! I was able to get on at work on my lunch. Hope you have all been well

So the challenge is that it is coming the holidays. Today a local radio station is already playing Christmas music...crazy! And as we get in the throw of holidays with the business and all the food, a lot of us get a bit off track or a lot off track & gyms and even MFP turn into a ghost down mid-Dec to mid-Jan.

Part 1 - Come up with & post your game plan to survive the holidays. Most of us won't be perfect, but what can you do better than last year. Or you don't want to eat lots of cookies at a party, so you decide you'll keep gum stocked in your purse & chew it so you can't put food in your mouth. Or you know you will be too busy to get to the gym, so you come up with some things you can do at home like run outside for a quick walk around the block. Or maybe instead of sitting around watching xmas movies the whole month of December you decide to be more active.

Part 2 - Get your family on board if you have one. Do you live at home with your parents? Talk with them about idea you have for things to do during the holidays for things to do or meals. Last Thanksgiving, I flew home to be with my parents & my sis & her husband. I discussed in length with my mom about meals and what they were willing to change & what they weren't...I knew I was messing with tradition:) In the end, we ended up making 2 of some things, like mashed potatoes for everyone & mashed cauliflower for me. The previous Christmas, I got all my mom's recipes & entered them into MFP to figure out the calories, then we made healthier versions of them and I had pre-planned the meals & calories before every flying out there. That was the only xmas I didn't gain weight (didn't lose, but didn't gain either). I also took an exercise DVD that I did in the living room...not every day but at least I did something.

Part 3 - Find a holiday accountability buddy. By now hopefully you have found some MFP folks that you have gotten to know a little bit or people in this group. Ask them to be your accountability partner thru the holidays and tell them exactly what you want to do...like that you want to walk each day for 30 min or you want to not give in to eat cookies or something or you want to still log each day. Then commit to each other to look out for each other over the next 2 months. (You can always report back to me if your accountability partner starts slacking in the accountability portion You can message each other once in a while asking how the other is doing or when you notice the other one doesn't seem to be doing what they say their goal was & encourage them to keep at it.

Don't forget to read up on your teammates posts. You might come up with some great ideas. And if you need any recipes....

shadow2soul

Part 1- Well for as far as food is concerned, I have 2 days between now and new years that I'm not going to worry about calories. I'll try to fill up on mostly veggies to help keep my calories down, but over all I'm just going to enjoy myself both days. I plan to continue to keep my calorie deficit for the rest of the time.
As for workouts, I just started the final weeks in the 90 Day program I'm doing. These last weeks, I'm dubbing hell weeks. 2-3 days each week will have 2 hrs of exercise. The program ends 12/7 and then on 12/9 I plan to start Rockin' Body. I think I lucked out with Thanksgiving, it happens to be on a 2hr workout day. Based on the fact that I will be doing the circuit burnout dvd that day (along with another dvd), I will be looking at around 2200 calories just to maintain my 500 calorie deficit and close to 3000 to maintain.

Part 2- My hubby is also trying to lose weight, so we will both be counting calories (with the exception of 2 days) and reminding each other to workout. He also weighs the ingredients for recipes when he cooks, so that helps greatly.

Part 3- ...

courtco1

This holiday is going to be especially difficult for me. I am leaving on my wedding cruise Sunday. THERE IS GOING TO BE SO MUCH FOOD!! Since it is Thanksgiving, and my wedding, I am not going to be too hard on myself. I will try to get a work out in in the morning and take the stairs. I'm sure this will set me back a bit, but I have to make sure I get back at it when I return. As for Christmas, I am going to try to modify some recipes. A lot of people in my family are trying to lose a few, so I don't think it will be a big deal to make some low cal meals.

jltheis7

Part 1 - Come up with & post your game plan to survive the holidays.
The holidays are usually not that tough for me to get through. If anything, I focus on the positives of the season--extra time with family and friends, fun activities, self reflection for the past year, etc. I will continue doing what I usually do I guess!

Part 2 - Get your family on board if you have one.
My family is super supportive without being in your face about it. Get togethers have lots of healthy options. Someone always brings fresh veggies and fruits and a great salad like spring field greens with strawberries, pecans and red onions with a light vinegarette. Sugar free and fat free options are also included as both my parents are diabetic. We always have lots of activities to work off extra calories while having fun too.

The plan I need is for work. The treats in the staff lounge, the treats in my mailbox, the homemade caramels from a friend cause she knows it's a favorite, the potluck meals..... Getting my co-workers, most who don't have food addictions and other weight issues, to accept my choices is always tough. My plan is to just say "I will have some later." and then just eat my prepared healthy choices. I already limit myself to one trip to the lounge a day, if I go at all. My para is great at going there to heat up food or get me water if I drink all I prep at the beginning of the day and put in a cooler in my classroom. I downloaded the MFP app on my Ipad and it reminds me to log in daily...my student was using it today and the reminder came up so he brought it to me and wouldn't finish his work until I logged in my food and exercise. That support is going to help me through the temptations.

Part 3 - Find a holiday accountability buddy.
Since work is the tough part of this season for me, I teamed up with two co-workers who are also making healthy changes in their lives. We are going to encourage and support each other through Winter Break. The first week of January, we are going to get together for a healthy celebration to kick start the new year with a successful end to this one.