Starting Weigh-In and 1st Challenge

AZRunnerGirlinErie

I hope that everyone is ready to go and excited for this group to get started. I will be posting the challenges on Wednesday p.m. as I'm a morning exerciser and usually don't check MFP first thing in the morning.

Thursday - October 10, 2013 - Shake It Up & Shake It Off Challenge Begins

Record Starting Weight (record your weight on the spreadsheet)

Challenge: Burn at least 2,000 calories this week (averages out to 286 calories / day)
(spreadsheet will tally your numbers)

I really want everyone to be aware of how many calories they are actually burning and to get out and enjoy the beautiful fall weather. The calorie burn can be a combination of strength training, cardio, playing with the kiddos in the park, mowing the lawn, walking your dogs, playing sports with friends, workout videos, etc.

I will also include links to different youtube videos that I have found helpful for ideas. Please also add any videos / links that you really enjoy.

Exercise Videos
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QtYgmDEddug (30 min aerobic video)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZxTVmpvyUt8 (20 min aerobic video)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=52uvwCi03yE (20 min aerobic video)

Body Weight Exercises - youtube has great demos on all of these exercises and great progression from beginner to advanced
Push-Ups (full, knees, wall, diamond), Pull-Ups (can be done at park, jumping pull-ups)
Plank, Crunches, Leg Lifts
Lunges (Walking, Isolated), Squats, Wall Sits

Don't forget the most important thing - Have fun!

P.S. I read about an app (free) today called Fooducate. When you're at the grocery and are having a hard time choosing which product is healthier you can scan it and the app will help you decide. (Haven't used it yet but thought I would pass it on)

ANewDay316

Thanks so much for organizing this! I am soo pumped to start a lifelong journey of getting healthy!!!!!

EllieKish

Yes, thank you SO much for doing this!

I have been trying to do some videos that are on YouTube - they are called BodyRock.TV - there a lot of different ones. The workouts are usually 12 min (50 seconds on with a 10 second rest). They are intense thought and a little much, but I liked that they are short and I break a sweat! Not sure they are good for everyone, but wanted to share.

tnjackso1

Hi, I was able to record my weight..but when I clicked to go into the week 1 challenge to record my calorie burn the system just continued searching. Am I doing something wrong??

momofrugrats

Great Challenge!! Going away for the weekend with some friends so I don't know if I will reach the calorie burned challenge by Thursday, BUT, I will take my heart rate monitor just in case someone wants to hike in the woods. BTW, I use fooducate often...it is a great app.

cpanus

Walked 4.27 miles in 61 minutes and got in 40 minutes of challenges. It was a good Thursday.

Hope everyone has a great Friday!

Chris

AZRunnerGirlinErie

Hi, I was able to record my weight..but when I clicked to go into the week 1 challenge to record my calorie burn the system just continued searching. Am I doing something wrong??

Hi - You're not doing anything wrong. I noticed that it was taking awhile for me too. Feel free to send me your calorie burn and I can enter it while I'm logged in. WTG on burning some cals!

jmclean67

How do you calculate calories burned from strength training. I noticed the app only calculates the calories burned for cardio

jmclean67

How do you calculate calories burned from strength training. I noticed the app only calculates the calories burned for cardio

P.S. Thanks very much for organizing this will be a great way to stay motivated

AZRunnerGirlinErie

How do you calculate calories burned from strength training. I noticed the app only calculates the calories burned for cardio

I had the same problem when I first started with MFP but I found that if you go to the cardiovascular section and type in strength training it will calculate your calories. Hope that helps.

SilverclawMoonmist

Hey
I'm super excited to start losing weight and getting in shape! Right now, my starting weight is 169. I am just now checking back in with this group because I forgot that it was starting yesterday, but starting tomorrow morning, I am going to get back to doing my morning jogs when the weather is nice (or at least not rainy...that's what counts as nice weather here in Oregon lol). Anyway, If anyone has any tips on keeping eating habits healthy as we near the holidays, please let me know. This is always the toughest time of year for me to keep my eating habits in check so any advice would be helpful! Thanks!

AZRunnerGirlinErie

So did my first 5k Zombie Run today. It was a lot of fun and the run went by pretty quickly. Needless to say tho I did not survive - all of my "brain" flags were taken before I finished the first lap - lol

Hope everyone is having a great weekend!

AZRunnerGirlinErie

Hey
I'm super excited to start losing weight and getting in shape! Right now, my starting weight is 169. I am just now checking back in with this group because I forgot that it was starting yesterday, but starting tomorrow morning, I am going to get back to doing my morning jogs when the weather is nice (or at least not rainy...that's what counts as nice weather here in Oregon lol). Anyway, If anyone has any tips on keeping eating habits healthy as we near the holidays, please let me know. This is always the toughest time of year for me to keep my eating habits in check so any advice would be helpful! Thanks!

Healthy Eating Habits during the holidays are such a struggle for me too. Especially at work when everyone keeps bringing in goodies. One thing that I've done in the past is ask that everyone put their goodies in the break room so that everyone can enjoy them and then they aren't sitting 3 feet away from me (when they are that close I will snack on them all day). I also pack all of my lunches and include a small sweet snack so I don't feel so deprived.

I would love to hear other tips too since holiday snacking is such a challenge. Thanks!

cpanus

@ SliverclawMoo and AZRunnerGirl - this is the toughest time for me, too. I just get through one day at a time. I write it down the night before and stick to my list. At work, I have a rule that I don't eat food someone else has made. I have stomach issues, and I don't know what's in their dish or how it was put together. I take my chicken/bean soup to pot-luck lunches and take my serving out before I put the slow cooker on the table. I take my lunch, so I don't go out at lunchtime. I pack two snacks along with my lunch. I don't buy my trigger foods. I've learned to say, "No, thank you." not cave in...smile and just keep walking. I get in 5 - 6 days of walking and exercise. Hope this helps.

I managed to walk 4.23 miles in 65 minutes and spend 47 minutes on challenges today.

It was a good Saturday.

Chris

EllieKish

AZRunnerGirl that is awesome you did a Zombie Run!!!! I have always wanted to do one of those! I had a birthday party for my 7 year old....how do you force yourself to log on when you are busy? I didn't log in all weekend because I kept saying "Oh I will do that in a little bit, right now I have to do this." Then I never end up doing it. I then fall off the beaten track because I am not realizing how bad I am doing until its too late. Any advice on this?

AZRunnerGirlinErie

AZRunnerGirl that is awesome you did a Zombie Run!!!! I have always wanted to do one of those! I had a birthday party for my 7 year old....how do you force yourself to log on when you are busy? I didn't log in all weekend because I kept saying "Oh I will do that in a little bit, right now I have to do this." Then I never end up doing it. I then fall off the beaten track because I am not realizing how bad I am doing until its too late. Any advice on this?

I had always wanted to do one too and we just had this great opp to do it. My hubby (in the pic) decided he wanted to be a zombie - it was hysterical and so much fun!

As for the logging - I do struggle with it too especially over the weekend. What I have found that works for me is that I usually have my mobile phone/ipad with me and I log my meal before I eat. Then I can enjoy eating and not stress that I haven't logged it. The updated MFP app on iphone now allows you to scan food items which makes it a lot easier for me to log.

Being at / hosting a party definitely makes it a huge challenge as well! A couple of things that I do in these instances is make sure that I eat before the party so that I'm not as hungry. I will also try to get a good calorie burn in that day (I find that if I have done an intense workout then I'm less likely to overeat). If I'm hosting then I know what food will be there and I can plan ahead and even log what I think I will eat to get an idea of the number of calories. If I'm going to a friend's party then I just try to stay away from the snack table (easier said than done - lol).

Can anyone else provide tips or suggestions for weekend logging? Thanks!