Kicking *kitten* In Our Twenties - December Challenge!!

wardiemelissa

Quick post before making a dish to pass for staff luncheon (oriental salad) and icing for my 5 year old's kdg. class tomorrow (they are making gingerbread houses).

Did WK1D2 of push up challenge...arms were BURNING after the 2nd set but managed to get them all in. Also got a run in on the treadmill. Tried doing some interval running...5 min @ 6 mph 5 min @7 (did this 2x) for the last 10 min I did 5 @ 6 mph and the last 5 at 7.5 mph. It came out to 3.23 miles in 30 minutes (9:17 pace-fast for me). My legs were TOAST when I was done but felt good knowing I can run like that...going to start doing that a little more often to switch things up a bit!!!

Check back before bed!!

Melissa

tjradd73

great job Melissa! that is an awesome pace! i havn't been able to run that fast since high school!! LOL

meggonkgonk

Meag- did I say peer pressure from fellow runners? I meant my instinctive cheapness/refusal to pay for a gym membership :-)

Mike – hope your walks went well!

Finn- I am doing Warrior Dash in NY in Aug- I am registering as soon as I can make sure my computer is secure enough to send credit info (it got a virus last week and while I got rid of it, I don’t want to enter any personal information until my tech guy has looked at it).

Beth- I’m sorry your mom is being so selfish lately. :-( That wicked sucks

Seripha- I totally get what you are going through (not so much with my current job- that one I am young and do need to spend some time learning) . But attitude from people like that isn’t just annoying- it’s unnecessary. I haven’t got much to add just “yea that blows”

Spellbinder- I took a quick look at your diary and I noticed that a lot of your take out/splurge food is at dinner which makes complete sense, but I find that those kind of meals in the evening “stick” with me for a few days unless I follow them with some kind of exercise (sometimes the boy and I will just take a 20-30 min walk). Anyway, that’s how I deal with take out if I can’t move it to lunch time.

Tara- GREAT WI- Way to rock it!!!

Melissa- AWESOME INTERVALS!

QOTD: Any time I hit a plateau or just generally feel like I’m getting stuck I try to do a couple of things: 1) I incorporate leeks, grapes and dried fruit into every day (sometimes 2x a day). These things are natural diuretics and kind of “get things moving”. (also drink lots of extra water, as these will dehydrate as well) 2) Intentionally vary my calorie totals- being over and under by about 1-200 calories alternating days 3) Make sure to have 2-4 days in the week with no take out/ as little processed food as I can.

Ok every one- i am freaking exhausted. Got in 7m tonight for my long run, but man i barely got it done. So tired and have early meeting in the morning. So sleepy. Good night.

tjradd73

thanks Gonks! goonight

rai8759

hi! been reading all of your posts, but not posting until now. I feel like I barely have time to get my food/exercies plotted in here!!! But i'm still making it happen. yay!

Lola - Cheat meals: I eat out probably 1-2x a week. Sometimes there is just no food in the house since I've not had time for shopping or planning. However, I always go somewhere where I can look up the nutrition info. Look it up, write down all the choices that fit into my calories and go with that. If I know I want to indulge a little I make sure I work out or something either the day before (and don't eat my exercise calories) or the day of. Went to Steak'n Shake last Sunday and had a burger.....mmm heavenly, but I skipped the fries (400+ cal) and shake (700-1000+ cal). You can eat anything if you budget for it!!! I did not track for Thanksgiving and that did result in a gain at weigh in, but it was Thanksgiving and I was prepared for that. Not to sure what I'm going to be doing for Christmas yet.... Anyway. I think eating out or having chocolate sometimes (within my daily calories) helps me out of the box and stops me from binging on other stuff. Like tonight I brought some m&m's to work to fight off wanting to eat all the cookies/candies people make at home and bring.

Workouts: I do TurboJam inside OFTEN since it has gotten cold. It is a really great burn (calories and muscles) and totally fun. I agree with others that said that the work out has to work for YOU... or you won't do it.

Melissa - Good job!! Intervals are a great way to get yourself running a little faster. I've done it once or twice and I feel like the small goals (like 5 minutes @ 6mph) helps keep my brain occupied so I can kind of ignore the pain :sad: . I like playing mind games when working out..helps me keep going.

Guam - I hope you said NO to your mom's request.... going through the belongings of a deceased person (relative or not) is not an appropriate birthday activity. Hope Zumba went great!!!

AFM (don't really know what this stands for actually... but via context i get it).
Weeks been good so far. Suprisingly having trouble getting all my water in. Last week I could have drank the ocean.. this week not so much. I think its because of the cold... who wants to drink cold water when its cold?!! Will be going out on a date with the hubby tommorow night (aka eating out) so will be planning ahead calorie-wise and getting a work out in tomorrow after I wake up (either Turbojam or the gym AND week 2, day 2 of push-up challenge). Stepped on the scale this morning and was below 165 so hopefully that trend will continue until official wi!! Side note... possibly..probably TMI - Totally jumped my husband this morning after seeing the number on the scale and noticing how all my mfp efforts are starting to show!! Nothing tastes as good as sexy feels!! :bigsmile:

Might be dropping cookie making from the Christmas plans (budget related) which will also be much better for temptation purposes. Still have not done a lick of Christmas shopping!!!! Hopefully that will be done before Saturday since I'm working Sun-Tues then traveling for the Christmas holiday... yippee!

Roobean33

Rai - You are too cute. Love your post. AFM = "As For Myself". Oh and TMI lady! lol Just kidding. Losing weight and boldly jumping the hubby? WIN WIN.

Guam - *hugs* I hope you have a great birthday. I know your Mom didn't start it off right, but I hope the boy does better!

Gonks, Meag, Finn - Warrior Dash in NY? Exactly when is this and how far? It would be fun to run with you ladies (what you should read there is run with you the first mile or so, then you'll be leaving me behind). That is if I can even go. OH and how rude, I'm inviting myself? Please tell me to butt out if I'm overstepping.

Finn - :-) I am very proud of your workouts lately! You are becoming a runner before my eyes. Thanks for the encouragement, these last 5 lbs are very stubborn. You are right though, I should keep the long-term goal in mind: a healthy body & hubby.

Burningstar - Hi and welcome.

Seripha - Sorry about the coworkers comments. You are pretty and youthful looking, but that's no excuse.

Skip - I have just recently started varying the resistance to do intervals. LEGS BURN. I don't go backwards much because, well, it's super hard and I should suck it up and do it anyway (getting there). I love how shapely my legs are getting. Thanks for the tips!

AFM - Rest day, which was nice. Holiday party at work today, and I ate a late breakfast and used my lunch & dinner calories for it. I actually am impressed with myself. I overeat at this dinner every year, but not this one! Small FAIL: I did eat 1 cannoli and then "tried" this cheesecake which aka. ate 1/3 of it. Even so, I was under my calories for today, which I'll take as a WIN.

meggonkgonk

Gonks, Meag, Finn - Warrior Dash in NY? Exactly when is this and how far? It would be fun to run with you ladies (what you should read there is run with you the first mile or so, then you'll be leaving me behind). That is if I can even go. OH and how rude, I'm inviting myself? Please tell me to butt out if I'm overstepping.

Roo- http://www.warriordash.com/index.php It's 3.1 ish (I can't find it exactly, but it's like a 5k) dist. but it's full of muddy crazy obstacles. I will likely not be able to keep up with Speedy Meag-ee, as my fastest single mile to date is 9:23 after which I nearly puked, so you can run with me when she gets away from us. Hop on board the more the merrier! I'm planning on registering for 3pm on the Sat.

jillybeanruns

Warrior Dash ladies - use WDActive2011 for the "promo code". It'll save you $5. I'm not doing it, but Active.com sent me an email with the code, so I figured I'd pass it on!

spellbinder25

Gonks, Meag, Finn - Warrior Dash in NY? Exactly when is this and how far? It would be fun to run with you ladies (what you should read there is run with you the first mile or so, then you'll be leaving me behind). That is if I can even go. OH and how rude, I'm inviting myself? Please tell me to butt out if I'm overstepping.

Roo- http://www.warriordash.com/index.php It's 3.1 ish (I can't find it exactly, but it's like a 5k) dist. but it's full of muddy crazy obstacles. I will likely not be able to keep up with Speedy Meag-ee, as my fastest single mile to date is 9:23 after which I nearly puked, so you can run with me when she gets away from us. Hop on board the more the merrier! I'm planning on registering for 3pm on the Sat.

If it's a 5k and in August, I can do it too...will look into it a bit later but it'll fun..and I'd love meeting all of you...yippe!! I suppose all of you are registering for the saturday one, true?

meagalayne

Yay! Lots of stuff to reply to!

Jill - Thanks for the code! You bet your buns I'm using it! I love saving $5 - Esp $5US... That's like... $5.18CA! Muahahahaha

Gonks/Cait/Roo - Warrior Dash!!! Seriously though... I'm psyched! Can you tell? :bigsmile:

I won't be running ahead because I'll be dragging the boy along with me We'll just run it steady and finish whenever! By Aug I won't be running for any records so I'll just be happy to have fun and finish with my buds! Who knows what level running we'll all be at by then... I may be trying to keep up with the likes of you guys by then!

Roo - Of course you're welcome! We'd love to have you - the more, the merrier (as Gonks said). I'll be registering for 3pm on the Sat as well. Hopefully we can all race it together!

Rai - Happy to see you jumping on board with the push-ups! They are a total b*tch sometimes, but push your hardest and know that it's only 3-5 mins of your day so give it 110%. Great job with the "tentative" loss (it totally counts, it's just the mid-week gains that don't count ) - hope it sticks around. And kudos for jumping your hubby. It's so true that feeling healthy and fit makes you (look and) feel sexier! Probably TMI, but my self confidence has improved 10 fold since losing weight and working out and my personal life/sex life has really reaped the benefits! If anyone needs a reason to workout and watch what they eat, that would be my #1 :happy: haha I don't think the boy would protest it, either!

Melissa - Are you kidding me!?!?! Holy cow - that's one SPEEDY run. 5 mins at 7.5 is just craziness! You are setting new bars for me to reach, that's for sure! I am going to be doing my speed work today so maybe I'll mimic your interval running (with some shorter intervals to start) today and see where it gets me! I'll warm up and cool down 0.5 miles as well, just to add in some extra calories burned without killing myself... haha Hopefully I get 3 or 4 miles done.

Guam - Major disappointment with your mom :ohwell: It's such a let down when people we love forget about things that are important in our lives. I hope that you managed to assert yourself, avoid the grandmother's house for the day, and spend your birthday doing what YOU wanted to do. It's so hard to avoid emotional eating in those moments, but it always makes you feel so much worse after the fact, because then you have to deal with feelings of disappointing yourself as well. Your best bet is ALWAYS to go leave the house and go somewhere like the gym, where eating/food is not an option. Once you have some time to mull it over, the desire to binge usually passes and it's easier to make healthy food choices. I hope you're feeling better today and that your mother has found some way to make up for her forgetfulness. If not, do it for her and treat yourself to something nice today! Spend 30 mins or an hour doing something for you - doesn't have to be a food reward, just something you wouldn't normally set time out for. A nice hot bath with a book, for example - just a way to re-charge and feel good about *you* :happy: We can't always count on the people in our lives to be the most supportive or the most considerate (unfortunately), so sometimes we have to be proactive and get what we want for ourselves! (This is actually the first year I haven't organized my own birthday festivities, since I never count on my unreliable friends to remember or do anything special for me...)

AFM - My computer is still having issues... I put in tons of time yesterday trying to fix it (along with my boy's tech support from work), to no avail. It seemed fine until I tried to check the forums on MFP and then it went all haywire for a bit. No freaking idea. So if I go MIA, that's why :laugh: Yea, right! Like I wouldn't find a way to check MFP! haha

Because of this time wasted in the morning and before work I wasn't able to fit my push-ups in for the day, so I am doing them today instead. I managed to do 35 mins of lifting yesterday and 20 mins of running. I also walked about 40 mins but didn't log it since I figured I could use the extra calories for earlier in the week. I still ate plenty, so I'm not worried. Today I have speed training planned - 3-4 miles - and I'm doing it at the gym. It's cold and windy again today and I can't be bothered to push myself speed-wise when it's a million below zero. Interval training is my least favourite, so the least I can do for myself is run at the gym. I also want to hit up a running store to price out some new, killer running shoes for Half-Marathon training. Any of you runners have suggestions on GOOD shoes? I want to see about having my feet/gait/etc assessed for proper shoe reqs but I don't know where to get that done. I somehow doubt they do it at the running stores here.

Anyway, hope you all enjoy your xmas shopping, working out, and eating well today. I certainly don't envy the lot of you that have to head out to the malls for hours on end in these crowds to buy gifts! Definitely a bonus for those of us that don't celebrate this season... :bigsmile: Although, kind of a hassle since I need stuff for *ME* and you're all clogging up my malls, dammit! hahaha I guess I'll forgive you, since it's the holiday season and all!

Work again tonight @ 10pm, in the freezing cold once more. BAH! Is it June yet? :huh:
Meag

meggonkgonk

Alright ladies- I am officially registered for the 3pm wave Sat 8/13 in the NY race of Warrior Dash! Thanks Jill for the promo code!!!

Spellbinder- I'm really psyched- you should def. come with us! It will be cool!


Ok kids work is teh crazies. Just wanted to get that out there.

TTYS
~Gonks

meagalayne

Alright ladies- I am officially registered for the 3pm wave Sat 8/13 in the NY race of Warrior Dash! Thanks Jill for the promo code!!!

Spellbinder- I'm really psyched- you should def. come with us! It will be cool!


Ok kids work is teh crazies. Just wanted to get that out there.

TTYS
~Gonks

Me too! Just registered a few mins ago! Sat - 3pm! :drinker: :bigsmile: :drinker:

lostalykat

Morning peeps! Isn't it great when you just feel good when you wake up? I can't say I have been feeling too amazing during the evenings, It is hard having a 10 hour day at work/commute then working out for 1-2 hours and trying to make dinner and all that. Well enough complaining lets get to the good stuff!

Rai- So happy for your confidence, that is a huge plus when working out and eating right. Keep up the good work!

Warrior Dash Peeps- I had a friend do one here this October and she had a total blast! I am planning on doing one soon, when I can fit it into my other races hehe. It looks super fun! I wish I could travel to NY to do it with you guys.,....Hmmmm maybe?

Gonks- Thanks for the tips, I think when it comes down to it I just have to kick my own *kitten*! I have been slacking and I Know it shows, I am going to start doing a lifting video 3 times a week in hopes that it helps jump start the weight loss again. Also keep my eye on my food intake!

Meag- Shoes are very specific to the person. I always go and get fit at a professional running store, they watch me run and walk and make sure the balance is right for my body and my run. I highly suggest it, I know too many people who have developed injurys from prolonged running in the wrong shoes! This is your body peeps make sure you treat it right! I know it is expensive, but hey how much would an injury cost over time.

AFM- I am trying to get out of this exhausted spell, TMI alert, I have been so tired the boy and I have only been intimate 1 time a week or so, I get worried when we don't do it too often. Over thinking things right? Other than that my workouts have been great and I lost the weight I gained last week. I got the No trouble zones dvd for now and I am going to see how that goes since I already have 5lb weights at home. I hope it works out. My 5 year anniversary with my bf is this saturday and we are going out to a fancy sushi place! Good on cals and yummy food! I also have a work party tomorrow, I am going to keep my wits about me but let those two dinners go un-tracked. I have swimming tonight, and then spin class at 5:45 am friday morning. Wish me luck with all the workouts!

QOTD- If you could have one gift given to you (under $500) what would it be?
I am dying for a GPS heart rate monitor watch! I am going to see how the prices are after xmas and hopefully I can afford one with my xmas money!

jillybeanruns

No problem...I love deals/discounts and figured that was a great one to pass along!

Meag, definitely don't splurge on a new pair of sneakers if they're not fitted for you. I don't know of one running store that doesn't do a gait assessment - either via treadmill, running outside (which is what I do) or video taping you. You can always go to the store, try on some and make a decision later (but make note of the model numbers). I usually try and price things out first, but online retailers (at least here in the US) are much cheaper. I try and give my money to a local running store near where I grew up, but sometimes saving $30 is worth going elsewhere. If they tell you that you need a stabillity shoe - I have loved my Mizuno Wave Inspire 6s and Brooks Adrenaline GTS 10s SO SO SO SO SO much. Just enough support for the bad ankle without being heavy or holding me back...I can't have that :noway:

Aly, NMTZ is good. I have that in my rotation - it's nice to be able to pick and choose your circuits, but I usually do the entire 53 minutes! Happy 5 year!

AFM, I'm just feeling overwhelmed. I booked my flight to NYC to see one of my best friends from college for New Year's and now we're trying to find a party to go to, I probably need a dress, new shoes/etc... I got my HRM battery replacement but can't get the battery cover off and there are no jewelers nearby to me that I can just run to. I hate living/working in the middle of nowhere sometimes. I can't think of something to get my mom for Christmas....I don't have a budget really, but it can totally be a thought versus a splurge or vice versa but I just can't think of anything. Past 18 months have been rough and my mom has undoubtedly kept me from falling apart so many times. But I just can't deal/handle/think of anything right now. Got into a fight with my pharmacy about my prescription which they transferred back to my old MA pharmacy and they gave me *kitten* for demanding it be ready today. I need to get in a long run on Saturday and a short run (and maybe TurboFire/strength) on Sunday and have a family party Sunday afternoon that I need to make food for. I also have to make something for a work potluck I'm being forced to go to tomorrow...yes forced. They're closing down the town offices tomorrow and weren't too keen on me suggesting I stay here. So my lunch break gets taken up by food I don't want to eat and people I can't stand working with. Otherwise, I was going to go to the gym and see about my BF% or go haul *kitten* to a jeweler. I have all my presents (except for my mom's) and time has flown by so fast that I haven't had time to do Christmas cards - which I love doing. Have to wrap all my presents this weekend and hopefully find time to get a haircut/style. It's been 4+ months - I don't trust anybody where I live to touch my precious hair. Here's hoping my boss lets me take off the 23rd (next Thursday) so I can see a friend who's coming in from California for the holidays. Otherwise I have to go to ANOTHER stupid work party on the 23rd and only get 3 days off for Christmas.

Phew. Rant over. Did TF HIIT 15 and Stretch 10 this morning and then threw in Shred It with Weights Level 2. My legs are really beat down today, I tried to get in my best effort but usual calorie/minute burn was much lower than usual. But hey, I tried! Gotta get in a good workout tomorrow morning to make up for some of the junk food I won't be able to avoid tomorrow...grumble grumble.

Happy Thursday everyone!

seripha

Thanks ladies for the encouragement re work. I try to not let it bother me but once and a while it's just like "COME ONE. SERIOUSLY."

Today's my dad's retirement lunch (it's a surprise) so I'm going to go. It's at a Milestone's restaurant whose nutritional scorecard just blew me off my feet. Only two of the appies were under 600 calories and that was like for three pieces of naan or some mayo dip. GROSS. I think I found something good though - it's a grilled salmon wrap that's only 350 calories. I'm going to get a side green salad too with the lightest dressing they possibly have (a mango vinagrette that's like 30 cals).

I do need help though for tonight. My boy and I are going to see the midnight opening of TRON. Very exciting but I also want to bring something with me that I can munch on that isn't movie theatre popcorn or candy. Any suggestions of low cal but crunchy (not too crunchy as to distract someone) snacks I can bring?

lostalykat

Seripha- Have you tried Kale chips? You can either make them at home or some places sell them. They are great for a crunchy tasty treat. Or you can sneak in your own popcorn hehe I do that sometimes

meagalayne

For whoever was mentioning that they loved running skirts: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/141865-any-running-skirt-fans

Will update later! Time to make dinner and get some of my "To Do" list crossed off first.
Meag

SkipToMyLou32

Melissa--Your post yesterday about your interval run totally motivated me to try something other than running at 6 mph even for 30 minutes! I didn't do intervals, but I did 5 minute blocks at 6, 6.2, 6.5, 6.7, 7, and 6. It was so awesome! I think it would be better for me to do intervals like you did, but I was afraid if I slowed down I wouldn't want to go faster again! I'll have to try that next time. Thank you for motivating me without even meaning to!

Gonks--Awesome run! Way to go!

Rai--Totally agree that "nothing tastes as good as sexy feels!" Love it and thanks for reminding me of that!

Roo--Great job at your party! So nice when you can indulge a teensy bit and still work it into your calories and not go over. Well done lady!

Meag--I have used Mizunos as my running shoes since I started and I like them. The ones I wear have a band that holds the tongue in place. I HATE when the tongue in my shoe gets crooked. Of course there a tons of brands to choose from and that's just what works for me. There has to be some place that will help you find the perfect shoe for you.

Jill--Can your dish for the potluck be something you want or does it have to fit some category they asked for? If you can make whatever, you should just make something totally healthy and just eat that. Or eat something beforehand at your desk. Don't let those a-holes you work with make you eat something you don't want! They can force you to go, but they can't force you to eat badly. Geez I want to smack your boss and I don't even know him.

AFM--Good run this morning thanks to Melissa! Good food day too! Tomorrow I will have a couple tempting situations so here's to hoping I can abstain! *must look hot in family pictures*

tjradd73

Roo-great job at the party!!

For everyone doing the warrior run...i hope you all have fun!! I have done the "mud run", which sounds similar, at Camp Pendleton military base in Cali twice now and I love it!!! I chose to do it with a team of coworkers both times and it really makes you move since you all have to finish togethor!!! LOL I would recommend old shoes, old clothes, and a new pair of both for afterwards though!! The one I did was a 10K and it included: 2 mud pits, a mud crawl, a slippery slope, tires, 2- 5ft walls, tunnels, a HUGE LONG HILL up and down, and a river crossing!! It was so much fun and I had cut off like 30 minutes from the first year to the second (keep in mind, you will not be able to finish this race at your normal pace!), and i plan on doing it one more time and shaving off another 15 minutes at least!!! Good Luck to you all and remember to have fun!!

AFM-i did wk3's 1/1 on push-ups and crunches, and i ate very well yesterday! i was down another lb today but of course will not log it until next Wednesday again!! and I am 0.8lbs away from the 20lb goal that i set from myself by X-mas!!!

CaptainJim157

Hey girls!

I have my new job tomorrow! Well, it's a trial, he's going to let me know after the shift if I'm staying on! Wish me luck! *crosses fingers*