Fit For Life ---Challenge Group

sngnyrslp

Today was not a good day! Taco Bell for dinner means definitely going over on my calories (and probably everything else) for the day. I'm not incredibly upset about it because I was about 400-500 calories under a couple of days so far this week so I think it'll work out okay. I do definitely regret my decision to eat fast food, and hopefully I'll learn my lesson for next time.
I'll get back on the horse in the morning!

I hope you ladies have done better today than I have haha

kicklikeaGIRL

good morning!!
I could not get up this morning. I tried, but I couldn't. So, the rest of the week I've really gotta try hard to get up early. Last night I got home from work and realized the spinning class starts too early on Mondays for me to attend, so I ended up working on my kickboxing routine (I teach kickboxing classes) and then I did 40 minutes of ChaLean Extreme. It was a good workout and I am feelin it today! Tonight I'm doing a shorter run, and then tomorrow I am getting up early, I've gotta do this!!

Have a great day!! hope everyone's week is going well!

Oh, I tried a new little recipe last night, I kind of made it up a bit..but it was tasty!! It was salmon with fresh cut potatoes, mushrooms, zucchini, olives, and red peppers. Drizzled with a little bit of light Italian dressing and basil and cooked in the oven. It was fabulous! I am having leftovers for lunch and I am very very excited! I've been trying to do more new healthy recipes to help give me and my husband more variety.

Chocolickkyss

Good morning everyone and Happy Tuesday! In two days I'll be among family and friends in Boston and I can't wait. It's been almost a year since I've been home so I'm super excited. I decided to switch up today's workout. Instead of completing the Plyometrics dvd from the P90X program I did Billy Blanks (Taebo instructor) Cardio Bootcamp and it was great. This workout "takes some of the most active moves from his cardio kickboxing routine and combines them with hard hitting interval training". Resistance bands are used for the majority of the workout and they really ramp up the routine and make you feel the burn. Since I had only done this routine one time everything was brand new and really fun. I may even take the dvd w/me to Boston so I complete it one more time while there (undecided as of now).

Lu: I couldn't agree w/you more. Beginning the workout is 10x hard than the workout itself b/c you find soooo many reasons to not workout but once you get started the time flies by.

I've been successfully maintaining my weight since January 2010 but I've got to get the body fat % reduced so I'm trying to think of a way to celebrate reducing the fat.....Any suggestions?

Val: Welcome the more the merrier and hopefully the more success the group will have.

lu123

Oh dear, well this challenge isn't progressing well. Though I've already done 2 and half more lengths than normal on Monday I was meant to be swimming yesterday. Unfortunately I'm ill so can't go swimming at the moment.

Looking on the bright side, might be good for the weight loss as can't keep any food down haha.

kicklikeaGIRL: recipe sounds delicious, its making me hungry. might have to try it when im better

Chocolickkyss: Hope you have a nice time in Boston.

sngnyrslp: though I'm not sure what a Taco Bell is I'm sure it'll all balance out in the end. Everyone slips every so often. Just got to persevere, get back on that horse and show him who's boss (so to speak haha)

porterbaby38

good morning ladies. how is everyone doing today? i'm doing good. yesterday i went for a long walk. bills had to be paid, so i paid them by going for my walk. i started at on end of the town and end up on the other side of the town. i was sweating, like crazy. i had my liquids though. i sure felt great though. but today i'm just going to workout on dvds. i might go for a walk around the park, later. i love to walk. i just put my mp3, hrm, step meter and start walking. of course i take my phone with me just in case i need for an emergency.
lu123: i hope you get to feeling better, just take it easy.

kicklikeagirl: that sounds good.

choco: i hope you enjoy being with your family and friends, and i hope you have lots and lots of fun.

sngnyrsip: you can do it, getting back on that horse, i know you can do it. good luck.

kicklikeaGIRL

hey everyone!
last night's workout consisted of a 3 mile run at an insanely fast pace (for me anyways). I finished the 3 miles in 26 minutes, so I was at about an 8.5 minute mile (7 mph). It was really hard, mainly because the first 3/4 mile was a steep incline of 350 feet. Insane! I felt like I was going to die, but the runners around here tell me that its good for me to increase my speed. I'm going to try running on flat ground (although thats hard around here), to see how fast I can really go. I might try the local track. I just hate running laps, its so boring. But, anywhere I run outside here I'm surrounded by hills and mountains so hills are inevitable.

This morning I got up around 5:30am to do some ChaLean Extreme. CHOCO, if you are looking for something to reduce body fat, this is the program. It builds muscle, but at the same time burns fat, and my body percent has improved TREMENDOUSLY! But, then again, I have a lot more fat to lose. But, its unlike P90X in the fact that Chalene Johnson goes really slow on each movement, and encourages you to go heavy on the weights. She teaches all the proper forms to avoid injury. A lot of people think they would bulk up, but she explains that since women don't have as much testosterone, we don't bulk up, we slim down into a smaller package. Lean and tight. Right now I do the program 2 days a week (its designed to do 3 days a week, plus they have some cardio workouts too, but I opt to do my own most of the time). Its a 90 day program, and I have an MFP friend who didn't lose as much weight--maybe 3 pounds or so, but her body fat decreased a LOT (for 90 days anyways) and she is very defined and toned. She's deleted her MFP account now, but she's about your size and had amazing results with the program. You can usually find it on ebay for relatively cheap.

Anyways, it was a great workout and I can feel it already! I'm really trying hard to get at least 2 days of strength training in, because I'm fearful that with all the running I'm doing I'll lose my muscle. And I don't want that, I want to be firm and tight!!

Have a great day ladies!! I've almost got my goal accomplished for the week...tomorrow and Saturday will be early morning workouts. I can do it!

Chocolickkyss

Good evening everyone. Im posting late b/c as you all know I am in my hometown of Boston visiting friends and family. I arrived at 10 am this morning and have yet to stop running. I was able to visit w/my grandmother, hang out w/a very good friend, have lunch w/high school friends, workout w/another high school friend, have dinner w/other friends and then spend time w/my cousin and her children.

Despite how crazy my day has been I was still able to get in some good workouts. First, I started the morning with 1.5 miles of the Leslie Sansone workout (holding 3 lb weights), then instead of taking the train to my concourse I walked which was another mile and then I met a high school friend for a turbo kickboxing class at her local gym this evening. So, I really burned some calories.

Ladies, thank you so much for the well wishes. I made it to Boston safely and have been enjoying myself thoroughly since arriving.

Dawna: Thank you so much for the information regarding the Chaleane Extreme program. I was actually contemplating if I should purchase this program or her newest one Turbo Fire. I need to make a decision quickly though b/c I'll be done w/P90X soon. BTW, great job w/increasing your running speed. 7 MPH is awesome and you really seem prepared for the 1/2 marathon.

Chocolickkyss

Good evening everyone. Im posting late b/c as you all know I am in my hometown of Boston visiting friends and family. I arrived at 10 am this morning and have yet to stop running. I was able to visit w/my grandmother, hang out w/a very good friend, have lunch w/high school friends, workout w/another high school friend, have dinner w/other friends and then spend time w/my cousin and her children.

Despite how crazy my day has been I was still able to get in some good workouts. First, I started the morning with 1.5 miles of the Leslie Sansone workout (holding 3 lb weights), then instead of taking the train to my concourse I walked which was another mile and then I met a high school friend for a turbo kickboxing class at her local gym this evening. So, I really burned some calories.

Ladies, thank you so much for the well wishes. I made it to Boston safely and have been enjoying myself thoroughly since arriving.

Dawna: Thank you so much for the information regarding the Chaleane Extreme program. I was actually contemplating if I should purchase this program or her newest one Turbo Fire. I need to make a decision quickly though b/c I'll be done w/P90X soon. BTW, great job w/increasing your running speed. 7 MPH is awesome and you really seem prepared for the 1/2 marathon.

porterbaby38

hi everyone. will today weigh in is of course 168.2lbs. i just can't seem to past this yo-yoing between 165.lbs. to 171lbs. no matter how hard i work and try so hard not to get frustrated and watching trying not give into the beast. i eat out of bowls, i measure my food with a coffee cup. i'm consently doing something. i don't like salt, i drink the amount of water i'm suppose to drink. since i have this whole new life, i'm not the one to give up. i'm NOT a QUITTER. i'm just wish i can be like some people wait for a month or so to weigh, but i'm in these challenges that has weigh ins. fridays, and mondays. hey what does painting comes under? :grumble:

lu123

Okay so its friday, time for a new challenge!

I think this week I'm going to focus on food. So my challenge is to eat at least two portions of fresh fruit per day (help me get up to my 5 a day )

porterbaby38: hmmm, keep going, it sounds like you might have hit a plateau. I've heard changing your routine or diet can help break it, if you're on low calories up them for a couple of days I know it sounds odd but I've heard that its one way to keep your metabolic rate guessing so it doesn't give up. Doing exercise on an empty stomach in the morning when you wake up is meant to be good for boosting metabolic rate too. Dunno if that helps at all. Keep persevering, you'll shift the weight eventually

SkinnyGal08

I'm in I need a group like this to push me and make me stay motivated and determined and to help me along the way I would really love to start getting ready to train for a marathon I already train with a fitness trainer 2-3 times a week, but I've hit a plateu and have 10-15 lbs to go, and I'm not going to stop we are in this together guys!! I need tips and motivation LET'S GO!

kicklikeaGIRL

Good morning ladies!
I got up and did a 15 minute jog warmup before I did some plyometrics. I did about 40-45 minutes of HIIT the included a lot of plyometrics. It was a good workout. Going to try to get some organizing and cleaning done for the weekend. Ugh, and laundry.

I'm going to set 2 goals for this next week:
1) Get up early at least 3 times in the week. I made my goal a little too lofty last week and I felt like a failure so I'm going to try again. And 3 times during the regular week, not weekend.
2) Eat very clean. I do really well, there's no doubt, but I have a secret love for tortilla chips. Since my husband loves chips and salsa we buy the chips for him. So I've gotta keep my hand out of the chip bag! Other than that- I've really eliminated my processed foods. I only eat fresh fruits/veggies, lean meats, whole wheat grains, raw nuts, fresh ground peanut butter, homemade salsa, homemade pasta sauce etc. But, I can do even better, and I know that as I've eliminated processed foods I don't even crave them anymore. The chips, for me is just a mindless snacking thing, while my husband is snacking. So, it can be elimintated!

Have a great weekend ladies!

lu-- I think your challenge is great! Fruit is a good food to get into the diet. 2 servings of fruit is actually the recommended intake per day, in the US anyways. Personally myself, I love fruit but I do try to limit it to 2-3 servings a day so I don't get bloated and so my sugar levels aren't super high.

porterbaby-- what do you have your goals set at? such as: weight loss per week? your lifestyle? (do you have it as sedetary, lightly active, etc) are you eating all of your exercise calories? how much calories do you average per day? if you give some more information we can maybe help you break the plateau. although sometimes weightloss just gets harder as you get closer to a "healthy" weight. I've been stuck for a few months, so I'm trying to switch it up again. Anyways, let us know!

Choco-- I've done some crazy research on Turbo Fire (well research based on other's opinions and things). Because I was looking for a new purchase, and I thought Turbo Fire would be the cure, but I'm thinking I need to get Insanity. Apparently Turbo Fire is not as intense as Insanity and has shorter workouts. I came across this message board from an Insanity Vet who made the purchase and did a comparison. She wasn't thoroughly impressed. Since Turbo Fire is just a watered down version of Insanity (which you rock at), maybe something more strength training would be helpful to mix into your routine. I've also heard that doing a "hybrid" of the programs following the regular "schedule" can really help, especially if one of the programs you are including in your hybrid is strength training. Anyways, just thought I'd share. Here's the link to the message board. Have a great time in Boston!

http://teambeachbody.com/connect/message-boards/-/message_boards/message/61225897

kicklikeaGIRL

I'm in I need a group like this to push me and make me stay motivated and determined and to help me along the way I would really love to start getting ready to train for a marathon I already train with a fitness trainer 2-3 times a week, but I've hit a plateu and have 10-15 lbs to go, and I'm not going to stop we are in this together guys!! I need tips and motivation LET'S GO!

welcome! we just barely started this group, so its great to have new people! we've started posting weekly goals to help make ourselves accountable. Also, I'm running a Half Marathon in August...and thinking that maybe next summer I might do my first full marathon, we'll see But, way to go on wanting to work towards a huge goal like that! I can't wait!

lu123

kicklikeaGIRL: well UK says 5 a day of fruit and veg but really I wonder if they might just be pulling a number out of a hat haha. I read somewhere once that you shouldn't eat fruit as a dessert because it sits on top of your dinner and ferments which causes bloating. Dunno if that's true or not but I try and leave at least an hour after a meal before I eat the fruit, haven't had a problem with bloating so far so fingers crossed!

Hi Alex08, nice to meet you. I know you can push for those last 10-15lb. Fitness trainer sounds good, I'd love to have one of them, at the moment I have to shout at myself to make me work hard and am currently trying to figure a way to change up my exercise programme as I'm getting bored, oh dear.

porterbaby38

my calories for each day by mfp, is 1200. i pretty much active. i clean house, workout with dvds, i walk alot, our little dog pretty much keeps me busy, always wanting outside and wanting go across the street and play with my man's sister's dogs. i have something cooked for him, when he gets home from work. i mow the lawn when it needs it, i also use the weed eater, but i use the push mower though. sometimes i go upstairs at night and use the machines. i do both cardio and strenght training.

my food diary lately is:
1%milk
sara lee whole wheat bread
salads
fruits
smoothies
slimfast
whey protein drinks
bananas
trail mixes once and awhile
chicken
fish, when i hungry for it
veg.
cereals
cold cuts that good
peppers
dark chocolate once in awhile, but 3 blocks
skinny cow ice cream bars
drink lots of water(plain,flavored)
green tea
crystal light
lately my stomach has been bothering me so i've been eating light

porterbaby38

as in goals, i like to lose 2lbs. each week. but that doesn't happened for me.

porterbaby38

i also eat:
yogurt
cheese (sometimes)
crackers(clubs) sometimes
salsa
ketchup
mustard
bbq sauce
black pepper no salt

Chocolickkyss

Hello ladies, sorry for such a late post but the day started early yesterday and didn't stop til this morning. I'm having such a GREAT time at home but its been packed with trying to visit/hangout with as much family and friends as possible.

I started yesterday with a 2 mile jog and 1 mile walk around the local park. This jog was a bit of a challenge b/c I wasn't use to the terrain so it was difficult to catch a good rhythm plus the cramps in my back and stomach due to TOM didn't make it any easier.

Today, I did a 2 mile jog around my girlfriend's subdivision. Since it was soooo hot it was difficult to breathe and once again get a good rhythm.

Ladies, let me share this quick story. I met my best friend's boyfriend yesterday for the 1st time and he brought along his male cousin. The four of us went out to dinner and had a great time laughing and joking and when they walked us to our car later the male cousin gave me a hug and said "it was nice to meet you" and in the process of the hug he felt my upper back and said "girl, have u felt your back, it is awesome, do u work out?". I told him I was doing P90X and he could do nothing but sing me praise for how awesome my body looked as a whole but my back/bicep definition in particular. I was wearin a really cute strapless shirt that showed of the upper body pretty well.

While I can see the transformation my body has made it sure feels good for someone who doesn't even know me to notice it.

Dawna: Thank you sooo much for the information regarding Turbo Fire and Chaleane Extreme. I will check out the link when I get a moment. I really appreciate you looking out for a sista.

Well ladies, today will be another fun filled day so I have to go but I hope all is well with everyone and you all are enjoying your weekend.

sngnyrslp

Holy smokes I disappeared! Sorry about that! I'm back now though, and I just thought up a new goal. I'm gonna do this one for two weeks: No fast food. I'm thinking it shouldn't be too hard but we'll see!

lu123

sngnyrslp: ooo i like that goal, sounds like a good one.

I managed 1 and 1/2 portions of fruit today, yummy cherries. I have pineapple planed for tomorrow though and have set two portions aside in the fridge so I know I'm going to manage my portions of fruit tomorrow! :happy:

On a side note, I've decided to try running again (hated it at school but a lot of what I hated at school I now like), would be way easier to do that at uni there's a massive park near where I live. Starting off following that C25K thingy, make sure I don't push myself too hard (though I know I'll die within the first hundred yards anyway :blushing: ). I know some of you ladies run, any tips would be appreciated

Ten10

Is it too late to join? I want to be fit for life also.

Chocolickkyss

Good evening ladies, today has been another non stop running day. Since this is my last day at home I tried to see everyone I couldn't capture during the first 3 days and all I can say is I'm exhausted and ready to return to the Atl so I can relax. I have one more tentative trip to NYC in 6 weeks and after that i'm staying put until the summer of 2011. I absolutely love traveling but it wears you out.

My high school girlfriends and I went to the Bell Biv Devoe concert last night and had an absolute blast. Since they are originally from Boston they saved the best for their hometown. One of my friends was chosen from the audience to dance on stage w/them for one of their songs and she did a great job. After the concert we had a girls night in and just talked and laughed like we did when we were in high school.

Since today is my designated rest day, I completed 40 minutes of stretching w/a huge focus being on my lower back since it has been bothering me all day. Now that I've eaten dinner I'm going for a leisure walk to my cousin's house. She resides about a mile away from here so walking there and back will total 2 miles.

kicklikeaGIRL

Good morning and happy monday!
I was unable to get up early this morning as I was up until around 2am last night helping my husband proof-read his 12 page research paper that was due today. I didn't mind helping him, since I had some great- yet hard English teachers throughout my schooling. His paper was rough and needed a lot of doctoring. But, by 2am it was pretty much as great as it could be. I hope he gets a good grade on it. I slept in this morning. Oh well, I needed it. Tonight I'm hoping to get a nice light run in and then I'll be in bed early, that's for sure! Tomorrow is a strength training day for me, so I will be up at the crack of dawn! Yeahhh!

This weekend was pretty laid back. I ran 6.5 miles on Saturday. It was blazing hot, and I was not enjoying the run. Which is odd, I usually love my runs. But, Saturday was way too humid, and my body was not used to it. I had to walk quite a bit. The rest of Saturday was somewhat boring as my husband was getting his paper finished and studying for finals. I ended up going to the gym and getting on the bicycles for a while. Biked for about an hour, then stretched for another hour. As you can tell, I was real bored with nothing to do. But, it felt good to stretch. Sunday was my rest day. Didn't really have time to go for my usual Sunday walk, since I had Church in the morning and spent the afternoon and well into the wee morning helping my husband with his paper. Oh well, my legs needed the rest.

Choco- thats great that the gentleman recognized your amazingly ripped back! Dang girl!! Hope you are having a great trip! I'm sooo excited for my week long vacation in 2 weeks.

Ten10- welcome! its not too late to join

lu123- yummy cherries! I have been patiently waiting for the price of cherries to go down over here...apparently in this area they aren't in full season just yet. I'm going to the store tonight to stock up on some yummy fruits and veggies for the week!

sngyr--great goal for the week. fast food can definitely sabatoge all the hard work we put into making our bodies healthy and strong, and compact. so great goal for the week!

sngnyrslp

I'm so excited to hear about all of your progress and successes. Keep up the great work everyone!
I'm feeling really great right now because today was almost a disaster. I ate normally all day and went to the gym with boyfriend at about 8. When we got back from the gym, the power was out! (crazy storms around here). We needed some food, and it had to be something already cooked for us. I really wanted a big salad but all the supermarkets were closed by the time we got going. Instead of going to Taco Bell or McDonalds, we decided to get some Applebee's to go. I got this grilled Dijon chicken thing with roasted red peppers and portobello mushrooms. It was absolutely DELICIOUS and only 450 calories. I got to have a snack and was still well under my calorie limit for the day. I'm a happy camper!

That said, I'd like to add a second goal to this week (starting today). I noticed that if I know I didn't have the best calorie day, I'll stop logging my calories in the evening/night and will never finish the entry. This is a cop out! This week, I will try my hardest to log my food for the WHOLE day, regardless of how unpleasant the results are!

OH also I'm starting 30 Day Shred on August 1st and am looking for support. If you're interested, here's the link to the thread: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/107653-30-day-shred-starting-in-august

Goodnight everyone!

lu123

Woooo! I'm managing it! Bought myself a whole load of pineapple and have been having two portions a day! Also helping me not snack on the unhealthy stuff mum has lying around

Chocolickkyss

Good morning everyone. I'm sorry I didn't have a chance to post yesterday but it was a very hectic day. I arrived back in Atlanta safely but hit the ground running w/dr appts and errands. I still have to unpack and wash and fold clothes and I hope to get to it today. I was off of work yesterday but back on the grind today and have more deadlines yet again. I think I may have overdone it while home visiting w/friends and family b/c I've been experiencing some really bad back pain since Sunday. I wanted to ensure I was still working out but did not want to make the problem worse so i've been stretching and walking daily. The stretching helps in the moment but hasn't done much to relieve the pain long term. I think I'll be taking it very light all week unless the back begins to feel better.


Ladies, I apologize for not actively responding to posts but I've not had the opportunity due to being out of state but now that I'm getting back into the swing of things I hope to get caught up.

porterbaby38

hi ladies. i feel great today. i went for a long walk today and i wanted to keep going and going, but i had to stop, so people wouldn't worried about me. plus i did hip hop abs.
choco :i hope you had lots of fun and enjoy yourself.

kicklikeaGIRL

good morning ladies!
i think the effects of waking up early and intense workouts caught up to me last night. i fell asleep watching a movie since it was raining at around 7pm. i don't even remember my husband putting me into bed. but he's a sweetheart and set my phone alarm clock for 5:15 since he knew i really wanted to get up this morning and workout. well, with that much sleep it wasn't a problem getting out of bed. so i completed 15 minutes of some crazy cardio drills followed by 35 minutes of ChaLEAN Extreme. I am already feelin it! But, it feels goood. Maybe tonight I might run a few laps at the local track across the street so I can do some major stretching. Tomorrow I'm hoping for an early morning run. yippee! Tonight I'm making some vegetable curry over couscous. its my first time making either, so i am very excited. so many vegetables, it will be scrumptious! have a great day!

kaittx13

HEY!

I just found this thread on the message boards. wondering if it too late to join the group.
yall look like a good motivation group.

I need all the motivation i can get.

sngnyrslp

HEY!

I just found this thread on the message boards. wondering if it too late to join the group.
yall look like a good motivation group.

I need all the motivation i can get.

It's definitely not too late to join! Welcome to the group!