February 2020 Monthly Challenge
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Days 20-23
Four days of doing NOTHING on plan or goal. BUT- what I did do was remove some stress (at work & home), cleared space in my home/garage, and spent time with family (for a few hours).
My brother hauled away trash and some large pieces of furniture on Friday. He kept the furniture. My sisters (& their families), Mom, Aunt/Uncle drove down Saturday to salvage items they wanted. By 2pm the garage was rearranged, vacuumed, & finished! Everyone left with their new treasures.
I now have lots of space to workout! Yay! --zero excuses
Sunday made pot roast in the Instant-pot... turned out really good.
Monday---> onward!5 -
I’m chugging along. Under calories, losing weight and struggling to get under carbs. But feeling good.on track for losing 6 pounds this month.5
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Day 21-23:
1. Eat within cal/carb limits
2. Do scheduled strength training
3. Do 20 min cardio
4. Find some daily inspiration and share it
Weekend was kind of a mess...car broke down on the way to the beach 2 hours away, and we were traveling late so by the time hubs got there and we got back home it was 3am...saturday was just a ravenously hungry day, quite possibly because of the lack of sleep, but it doesn't really matter, I did a mostly good job sticking to nutritious food, and only had 2 glasses of wine, but still like 1k over on calories...sunday was more back to normal...all the strength training done, no deliberate cardio, but lots of painting done on the leia belt, and lots and lots of cleaning done at the house...it really needed it...I kind of dread seeing the yard at the beach house in another couple weeks, but my farm house sure didn't suffer from the extra attention...oh, and wormed the goats...about the only thing I didn't do was get out there and rake more leaves, that could have been a thing...1 -
Check in for Feb 22 and 23
1. get rid of 5 lbs by 2/29. the scale can't make up it's mind
2. stay < 35 net carbs daily. under both days
3. stay < 1,500 calories daily. well under
4. intermittent fasting 16:8 every day. not so good, more like 14:10, guess it's just too difficult on the weekends
5. Plan ahead every day.
I went outside for a walk/run both days for 3 miles. I am so looking forward to Spring. The weather person is predicting 2-5 more inches of snow on Tuesday. Hope they are wrong.2 -
Feb 24 check in:
Mindful eating ✅
Under calories ❓
Carnivore ✅
Water consumption- so far so good
Finishing off the day with a light dinner. Mindfully waiting to see if I’m still hungry, in which case I’ll do some left over roast to stay carnivore, so that is why I’m not sure on calories yet. Need more water be still have a few hours before I stop hydrating. Hope everyone is having a good Monday! Work was stressful but I’m not soothing with food.1 -
-Feb 24-
on-plan cals:
on-plan carbs:
workout: 1/6 cardio
NEAT:
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My jib-jab for the March challenge is up:
https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10786647/march-mindfulness-challenge-2020#latest1 -
Day 24:
1. Eat within cal/carb limits
2. Do scheduled strength training
3. Do 20 min cardio
4. Find some daily inspiration and share it
Monday was good, solid on food, solid on workout, rest day so just yoga/pilates...crazy busy at work, and crazy busy going to class after, so just not a lot of time to myself...sheesh...oh, and MFP was up/down all day, that was fun.1 -
I also had a crazy busy day at work which is typical for a Monday.
Check in for Feb 24.
1. get rid of 5 lbs by 2/29. darn scale!!
2. stay < 35 net carbs daily. right above goal, I wonder if it matters?
3. stay < 1,500 calories daily. well under
4. intermittent fasting 16:8 every day. Good
5. Plan ahead every day
The weather people have revised the report and the snow is going south of us to Chicago. I am very excited about that so maybe I'll get to continue walking outside. My knees like outside better than pounding the treadmill.
Stay strong everyone, we're on the home stretch for February.
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Thanks for this thread @baconslave. I've had a GREAT month!4
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Feb 25 check in:
Mindful eating ✅
Under calories ❓
Carnivore ✅
Water consumption- ❌
Had adequate water today but should have had a bit more. NEAT and exercise were good today but I ate more at dinner than I should have. I was mindful to stop before I went crazy. I’m learning!2 -
Hi, I'm new with this community. Can someone please explain about electrolytes and how to track them?0
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Day 25:
1. Eat within cal/carb limits
2. Do scheduled strength training
3. Do 20 min cardio
4. Find some daily inspiration and share it
I've kind of fallen off the wagon with the daily inspiration, sorry guys.
I did my strength and cardio, and it was a massive accomplishment because I also went to costco and had to put all the stuff away and portion it out, so it was kind of a late night for me, but at least I did get things done.
The march plan is done...not sure what I'm going to decide to post in March, but I'll come up with something. I am definitely visibly smaller...and my wonder woman leggings are like super baggy at the bottom of my butt, so definitely lost some there...I may have to buy me new leggings just to celebrate!!!
Finish February strong - you can do this!!!2 -
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Absolutely love that picture of the "mature" ballerina.
Check in for Feb 25
1. get rid of 5 lbs by 2/29. I will be close
2. stay < 35 net carbs daily. well under at 20
3. stay < 1,500 calories daily. 1,000, had to eat a late night pc of bacon to get me there
4. intermittent fasting 16:8 every day. Good, expect for the 10 o'clock bacon
5. Plan ahead every day-
Meeting during my lunch so no treadmill so went for a walk/run outside after work, it was cold but I made it. Feel very proud of myself for toughing it out.
Looking forward to March! Thank you for setting up another month of challenges2 -
@JanetMc9 Electrolytes are not something that I track. They are minerals like sodium, potassium, chloride, and magnesium. My perception is that people that do alot of exercising should be concerned with electrolyte consumption b/c the more you exercise the more electrolytes are depleted and need replenishing. Electrolytes make the electrical connection to power our heart.
I might have to be more concerned with them if I reach my goal of being a runner. Right now I'm just a fast walker and slow intermittent jogger. I avoid sweating if at all possible.
I personally am more concerned with protein, carbs, and fats. I have found that the only way my body will allow me to lose weight is if I am very choosey with the carbs I consume as well as calories being lower and then burning calories. CICO-calories in, calories out.
Hope that helps,
Vicki1 -
@JanetMc9 Electrolytes are not something that I track. They are minerals like sodium, potassium, chloride, and magnesium. My perception is that people that do alot of exercising should be concerned with electrolyte consumption b/c the more you exercise the more electrolytes are depleted and need replenishing. Electrolytes make the electrical connection to power our heart.
I might have to be more concerned with them if I reach my goal of being a runner. Right now I'm just a fast walker and slow intermittent jogger. I avoid sweating if at all possible.
I personally am more concerned with protein, carbs, and fats. I have found that the only way my body will allow me to lose weight is if I am very choosey with the carbs I consume as well as calories being lower and then burning calories. CICO-calories in, calories out.
Hope that helps,
Vicki
@JanetMc9 Welcome!
I would also add that the lower carb you are, the more important electrolytes will become to you regardless of how much you exercise, though of course, with vigorous exercise the need increases with everyone. If you are doing keto, then you need to track them, at least in the beginning. Keto Woe folk require 3000-5000 mg daily. Some require higher levels longer term. The process of ketosis sheds sodium, so you have less on hand to perform daily bodily functions. This is what "keto flu" is. Bottomline, it is electrolyte deficiency. When sodium goes and becomes low enough, the body starts leeching the other electrolytes. However, once you start topping sodium back up regularly, then your potassium tank will refill.
Here's the link in our resource library on electrolytes and low-carb. It's stickied to the top of the group page. https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10358179/low-sodium-and-keto-flu-electrolyte-imbalance-may-be-your-problem#latest
You also might want to check out the Open Threads page linked there as well.
https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10423197/open-threads-member-threads-on-low-carb-topics#latest
It's a bunch of informative threads with discussions on commonly questioned topics. You should look through and see what info you can find.
I'm am sometimes lower carb so I always make sure I replenish a little. On lowest carb days I do more via ketoade. Though sometimes I exercise enough at about 100g carbs that I need a glass as well. I seem to require a bit more potassium than others so I add potassium to my ketoade more often.1 -
-Feb 25-
on-plan cals:
on-plan carbs:
workout: 2/6 strength
NEAT:
My NEAT stank. I have sleep issues anyway, and I'm having to go off OTC things I was using to help me at least scrape 6 hours together here and there between 11:30 and 8:30 am. Well I surmise they're causing me to grind and clench my jaws at night. Which can end up being very painful. I got a mouth guard, so my teeth are protected, but I'm still painfully clenching, which still causes disrupting pain. So I stopped taking them and my old insomniac pattern returned as expected (I can fall asleep easily at the beginning, then I wake up and unable to go back to sleep for a long stretch). So energy was not there yesterday. I'll have to force it today. Busy day ahead. Blah.
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Thanks for the helpful suggestions. Will check them out. I'm not doing keto per se, just trying to keep carbs below 100 g a day, protein at 100 g and fat 77 g for total of 1,500 calories a day. Having a hard time getting the protein levels up without pushing the carbs up too. I guess my challenge will be for March primarily but that's okay.0
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Check in- doing well with weight loss, calories and better with carbohydrates. I’m learning fast. Lots of info on these forums and from friends. Anticipating a gain this week. Looking forward to mindful March.2
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Suzelle Poole (above) is a beautiful dancer and this little girl is quite something. I watch her when I need a smile. She's so cute...and animated.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ynR1XmQruoo 1 -
Ha ha ha, oh my goodness, I love that little girl! She's got the right attitude for that performance.
Check in for Feb 26
1. get rid of 5 lbs by 2/29. Success! Now I hope the scale doesn't trend up before Saturday
2. stay < 35 net carbs daily. right below goal
3. stay < 1,500 calories daily. Well under
4. intermittent fasting 16:8 every day. Easy during the weekday
5. Plan ahead every day-
Sun is shining in Southern Wisconsin and the weather man is promising a warm up starting this weekend. Good news!
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Day 26:
1. Eat within cal/carb limits
2. Do scheduled strength training
3. Do 20 min cardio
4. Find some daily inspiration and share it
Got a phone call in the evening from a friend I haven't caught up with in a while, and I did walk while talking, but not real cardio level walking because we were talking!!!
Everything else was good!
Love that sassy little girl!!!1 -
Suzelle Poole (above) is a beautiful dancer and this little girl is quite something. I watch her when I need a smile. She's so cute...and animated.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ynR1XmQruoo 1
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-Feb 26-
on-plan cals:
on-plan carbs:
workout: 3/6 cardio
NEAT:
Hoping for the energy to get a good strength workout in today. My knees continue to complain. Tough! I've been focusing on more glute centric for strength since my knees aren't going to play nice right now. Hey knees! Cares given= Zero.
Weight continues to derp around despite being in loss protocol. I feel the squish in my middle. Feb might not be a good result for me. We'll see Sat morning. But at least I did not gain 10-15lb this winter. Losing a few pounds is what I wanted, but considering how stupid things are in the winter, not gaining is a win. And I'll take what I can get.
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Totally went off the rails last night with company for dinner but it was just a blip on the screen. Reset back to my routine today. I think I may need more sodium though as my toes were cramping yesterday.
Thinking about new goals for the coming new month 1 -
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Feb 26-27 check in:
Mindful eating ✅
Under calories ❌
Carnivore ✅
Water consumption- ✅
Stayed carnivore over the last couple days and water consumption is up. Have likely under eaten at lunch because I’m ravenous at dinner but haven’t gone wild and go to bed totally comfortable rather than my past days of feeling miserable. No urge to snack in the afternoons so hopefully the scale continues a downward journey this week to finish the month.2 -
-Feb 27-
on-plan cals:
on-plan carbs:
workout: 4/6 strength
NEAT:
Not much to say. Just doing the thing, trying not to get more pissy about the water weight.
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Sun is still shining in Southern WI after an early morning dusting of snow.
Check in for Feb 27
1. get rid of 5 lbs by 2/29. Success! Scale is holding with the weight loss.
I have to say after fooling around with the same appx 2 pounds since Feb 6, the scale is showing a loss. I have not done anything different, just staying persistent with LC, under calories, and exercise. This has taught me that the phrase consistency +persistence+ time= success. Hope this is an encouragement to others
2. stay < 35 net carbs daily. well below
3. stay < 1,500 calories daily. Well under
4. intermittent fasting 16:8 every day. Easy during the weekday
5. Plan ahead every day- trying to plan for the weekend and my day off next Monday.
Spring is coming!!4
