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

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  • finncmh
    finncmh Posts: 290
    Melissa- glad to hear everyone is feeling better! Hope that you don’t get it yourself- lots of rest!

    Nadine- glad you are back. Don’t stress about keeping up there are some days/weeks when I don’t do such a good job with it and other times when I am lurking the forum all day… hehe. I mentioned last week that my trick when I have some time is to open up a word document and just type in that to individuals as I read their posts… then I can just copy and paste it in at the end. Helps a lot with not forgetting anyone! And some days you are going to just need to be totally selfish or not have any time and just do a quick check in and that’s TOTALLY fine also. We are glad to have you here! PS- crazy nice run! Good for you!!!

    Meag- I don’t know- I think my stalker status may be moving up there I may catch you one of these days… hehe. On the food front- I can not claim by any means to be eating perfectly but for the most part I stick to my plan and do pretty good. So on the days I do eat well (in my mind that means eating pretty much no processed food) I tend not to come close hit calories if I have exercised. I mean my calorie goal is a lot higher than yours (im around 1700) so I figured it wouldn’t hurt me if there were days when I wasn’t so close to it. BUT maybe I was wrong. My focus over the next few weeks is going to really be to keep getting those veggies and lean meats etc but eat more of them. Lets work on this together! Because there are days that I find I am doing the same thing to myself with the inner monologue and that’s not healthy either. That’s us going from the one extreme to the other and neither of us need that in our lives.

    Megan- LOVE LOVE LOVE adopting animals from shelters. OK maybe not the experience of getting them from shelters per say but being able to give a home to an animal that doesn’t have one. I was in the same boat as you were back in April. The fiancé didn’t think we had the space for a dog (we’ve had a cat for a few years) and I knew he was wrong and desperately wanted one. So I hunted all over for the right fit for us- shelters, online, word of mouth- you name it I looked. Finally fell in love with a dog that had been rescued from a high kill shelter in the south when he was just under a year but then had sat at the shelter by us for a year exactly. I TOTALLY fell in love with him. No one had wanted him because “he was too hyper”! Well wouldn’t you be hyper if you were still a puppy and had spent the first two years of your life in a shelter? Anyway *steps down from soapbox* we got him, fell in love and then found out that he had heartworms. It was a long 3 months of treatment and recovery for him. So long story short I would do it over again in a heart beat and tell anyone I know to do it. Just make sure you really go in asking all the right questions and make sure you are going to a shelter that has their animals up to date on everything. Wow that was longer than I intended. Will try to put some pics up of him. He is a complete- doll we totally lucked out (and mellowed out as soon as we brought him home)!

    Spell-AWESOME run lady! You are inspiring me every week with this C25k runs you are doing. Just listen to your body! Meag gave me some really good advice about how to increase each week. Made a lot of sense. You totally got this!!!

    Tara- thanks for the advice. Its tough sometimes sorting through everything, but its all good and well worth it. I do need to work on the sodium again. Some days are great and other days not so much! BUT my water is always good. I make it a point of having my 8 glasses before I even leave work. On non-workout days I will still then get at least another 2 at home during dinner and on workout days I usually get another 4-6. So that puts me usually between 10-14 glasses a day. So *SLAP* drink your water woman!!!! Hehe. CONGRATS on the elliptical. Its so cool to find a great deal like that and treat yourself to something that is going to continue to support your healthy living! Good for you!!!!

    AFM- you all saw my rambling from yesterday. Got some great advice from some of you veterans on here. So that was good. It just comes down to one day at a time and I need to keep telling myself that. I know that I am working my butt of. I need to not let myself slip in to the beating myself up dieting mentality. At work today so I’m sure I’ll be lurking the forum when the shop isn’t busy. Hope everyone is enjoying their weekends!!!

    -Cait
  • meagalayne
    meagalayne Posts: 3,382 Member
    Hey everyone. Happy Sundays.

    Got up today at 10:30 (tired as all out), got a protein shake in me, and hit the grocery store to pick up TONS of produce for when my folks are out of town. Really struggling with the constant urge to binge on fruit... But with my self-imposed lower carb allowance, it's not very practical. Makes me sad. I bought tons of fruit today, and so I may just be looking at a lot of red for a while. Oh well!

    Heading out for my 6miler once my oatmeal-lunch settles. I am NOT giving up oatmeal, for anyone or anything. It's like my blankie - could not live without it's warmth and comfort (in my tummy). Going to rock a super high protein meal once I finish my run and hope to stay under for the day. Dinner is still up in the air so that could be trouble...

    Cait - My cals are set at 1500, so not far off from yours, but I also probably eat WAY more than you do in terms of actual volume of food. I eat an insane amount just to satiate myself. Plus I always eat almost all or all of my exercise calories, just so that I don't feel like I'm starving. It's madness - I cannot believe that I spent months eating 1200 cals a day to lose this weight. It's obvious now that it was 1200 cals worth of "diet" food instead of clean, healthy and balanced diet like I am working toward now. Feel free to stalk my diary and comment on anything you like and I'll do the same for you. I am all for doing this together :happy: Let me know if you need any tips on getting your veggies - I am a total veggie-monster! There isn't anything you can't add spinach to, I swear :laugh: Lean meats are more of a struggle for me... How do you incorporate those? My go-to is usually eggs, soy or protein powder (yea, not the cleanest, I know) to get my protein in simply because I don't know how to use meat in meals and it seems like an epic hassle. If you have any suggestions I'd love to hear them!

    Anywho - Some house chores, running and then off to see the boy for the night. Could not be more excited :bigsmile:
    Have a great day MFPals!
    Meag :heart:
  • nadine2unfit2bqueen
    nadine2unfit2bqueen Posts: 153 Member
    tjradd73 – thanks! And JUST DRINK THE WATER! Lol I often put lemon or lime juice in my water to make it taste less… watery? Plus apparently it helps your metabolism (or so I read, might just be b.s.)

    finncmh – Great trick using the word doc! I am doing that now, thanks 

    Megan – thanks for the advice. Yes this thread is very motivating, I love it! Good job on making the lifestyle change to healthier eating and getting the support of those around you. Sometimes my friends don’t understand my choices and it can be frustrating when someone waves junk food under my nose to taunt me.

    meagalayne – trust me I have days where just getting out the door seems impossible. I should find this article I read about running that really inspired me. It was all about why we run, even when we don’t want to, and I think about it every time I don’t feel motivated. I sent it to my dad so hopefully he still has it and I can post it here for everyone on the running track.

    AFM – No running today. Going to physio this morning as I have a sore foot and can hardly walk on it  It was a bit sore after my run Friday, and then I went ice skating yesterday and it just got worse. Time for a rest!
    I never really set a weight loss goal for January. Because I gained so much over the holidays I wasn’t sure how fast/slow it was going to come off again and I didn’t want to set too high a goal and get discouraged. It’s been a week and ½ since I got back on the fitness train and I am down 2.2lbs. I think to keep myself feeling positive I want to keep my goal very reachable so from here if I can do a 1lb a week I’ll be happy. So my goal for Feb1st is to be 128lbs.

    - Nadine
  • Roobean33
    Roobean33 Posts: 104
    Cait - My cals are set at 1500, so not far off from yours, but I also probably eat WAY more than you do in terms of actual volume of food. I eat an insane amount just to satiate myself. Plus I always eat almost all or all of my exercise calories, just so that I don't feel like I'm starving. It's madness - I cannot believe that I spent months eating 1200 cals a day to lose this weight.

    Hold up: Meag help me figure this out. We weigh practically the same right? So why am I only allotted 1260cals per day? Or on you on maintenance? I think I'm set for 1lb/week loss at lightly active. Thinking of jumping it up to very active when I really start to go heavy on CrossFit. I feel like I need more cals when I lift/protein. What are your thoughts?

    Back later to respond/catch up with everyone.
  • meagalayne
    meagalayne Posts: 3,382 Member
    Cait - My cals are set at 1500, so not far off from yours, but I also probably eat WAY more than you do in terms of actual volume of food. I eat an insane amount just to satiate myself. Plus I always eat almost all or all of my exercise calories, just so that I don't feel like I'm starving. It's madness - I cannot believe that I spent months eating 1200 cals a day to lose this weight.

    Hold up: Meag help me figure this out. We weigh practically the same right? So why am I only allotted 1260cals per day? Or on you on maintenance? I think I'm set for 1lb/week loss at lightly active. Thinking of jumping it up to very active when I really start to go heavy on CrossFit. I feel like I need more cals when I lift/protein. What are your thoughts?

    Back later to respond/catch up with everyone.
    I'm somewhere around 0.3lbs loss per week - I was set at 1500 when I was trying to get under 130lbs and it worked wonders until I lost 2.2lbs in one week, and then I switched to maintenance calories (1690) but that seemed to be too much food. I'm just trying to figure out what works for my body right now. I've customized all the settings here - Have my lifestyle set to sedentary since I only work a few days a week and mostly sit on MFP commenting to people all day :laugh: , which isn't highly active, but I always log my exercise and mostly eat every calorie. I also have my carbs/protein/fat %s all modified to reflect this new high protein/low carb diet I am testing out... Want to see if I feel any better, more rested or generally healthier on it. It's all trial and error.

    I think you should definitely try getting more than 1260 a day - especially with how much you work out. At our weight I find that a steady 1500 or so, plus most/all of your exercise calories, is a great baseline. You are so close to GW that losing 1lbs/week is really unnecessary and you are depriving your body of the fuel it needs to function at max capacity. I'd recommend changing your loss settings to 0.5lbs per week for a little while and trying that out. Make sure you are nearing your goals, not way under then, getting lots of water, and eating as clean as you can - low sodium and lots of fruits & veggies. For whatever reason, so many MFPals don't take full advantage of the benefits of produce! Try to squeeze some in at every meal and snack, if you can. Once you start eating more & more often, you'll notice your metabolism taking a HUGE boost. I honestly can't believe how much mine has changed since I stopped "dieting" and starting really eating. It's been great!

    Hope that answers your question. Just my own personal advice - But do whatever you think is right for you. As you all know, I love to eat, so getting more cals is always a bonus in my books :wink:

    AFM - 6.07miles covered today - Pretty damn good. I averaged about a 10:35 pace (5.67mph) which is decent enough. It was friggen freezing outside and a miserable run but it got done. Hurrah. And now I'm heading over to the boys to lounge, try to find him a suitable apartment near me, have a healthy dinner (salad and marinated chicken, I think) and treat myself to some ice cream :love: Love!

    Have a great Sunday y'all!

    Meag:heart:
  • Roobean33
    Roobean33 Posts: 104
    Meag - I'm going to have to do some research, but I thinking you're right. I'm thinking a definite calorie increase is in order, and I am going to have to focus on those veggies, fruit, protein and fat. I really need to make my calories count, because I don't want to kick my @ss at the gym and then work against myself in my diet. I am eating OK right now, especially during the week, but I have several areas to improve upon. Thanks for your advice! You got in an excellent run today. I took my dog to the dog park and I was FREEZING and then when I got back inside my ears felt like they were going to fall off as I slowly got the feeling back. I can't imagine running in that kind of weather.

    TJ - Congrats on your elliptical purchase! I personally think the best part is getting to wear just a sports bra and not care how it looks! :-) Jealous!

    Mking - Getting a dog was one of the best decisions I ever made. I love having a pup run up to me when I get home and snuggle with when I wake up in the morning. I hope you find one that you fall in love with!

    Melissa - Hope the family is feeling better!

    Allie - Oh yes, bikini! Also one of my NSV goals if not the biggest one. I love that we are all moving towards that goal already. I know a lot of my coworkers/friends will wait until May and then be eating nothing but lettuce and flax seeds trying to look fit. We are doing it the healthy way, and probably going to end up looking much better because of it.

    Lauratx22 - I know what you mean about changing your goal weight...it's like can't I just be satisfied! lol You are right it's all mental.

    Finn - I already told u this, but I think you are doing amazingly well with your running. I just can't make myself do it! I hope you are shouting from the rooftops and doing a victory dance because you worked hard and it paid off. I hope you got yourself a "game plan" as you said. I am also trying to re-evaluate my food diary so we'll see where we end up!

    AFM - Rest day. I may end up doing some light elliptical and stretching. Tomorrow is my baseline test at the CF gym and then into the full workouts. My goal is to do 4 full workouts this week, but I'll see what my body will allow. Excited for dinner tonight! Pork chop, baked potato and steamed broccoli. YUM.
  • tjradd73
    tjradd73 Posts: 3,495 Member
    Cait-thanks for that!! LOL drinking 20 cups today to make up for it!!

    Nadine-got it!! thanks! and great job on your loss so far and good luck on your set weight goal for Feb!

    Mary-good luck on your working out this week!! i know you will do great!

    AFM-got in some yoga booty ballet today....elliptical will have to wait til Wed to get set up! :( and i will be peeing all night due to my water intake for the day!! LOL have a good night everyone!
  • wardiemelissa
    wardiemelissa Posts: 365 Member
    I ran my 1st 30 minutes today :drinker: Distance covered was 2.5 miles @5mph. Now I'm thinking of not repeating C25K weeks as I've been doing since I'm feeling more confident. I plan on proceeding per the C25K schedule. This way I'll be able to run my 1st 5k this month!!

    Foodwise I'm still not doing good :grumble: Hopefully will eat healthy rest of the month! Good night & hope you all are having a good weekend.

    Great job!! That's how I started my running career! KEEP IT UP :o)
  • lostalykat
    lostalykat Posts: 683 Member
    Selfish Update!

    Yesterday we swam in the sf bay, it was 51 degrees inside the water and outside in the air, but the sun was shining :)
    Today- 60 minute run with 2 minute on 2 minute off sprint intervals.
    110 Minute bike ride then 30 minute bike ride with the boy.

    I think this deserves at least one beer, maybe 2! I also was good and tracked almost all my food, and stepped on the scale both days to check my weight, so far no gain :)
  • seripha
    seripha Posts: 92
    So many posts! I'm so proud of all of us girlies getting active this weekend. :)

    Went for a run today and went longer than I usually do because I felt like I could do it! And I did with out stopping! I really think next time I will go even farther!

    Even though I have super busy work schedule this week, I'm excited because my work has their lunch hour classes starting again which means free step class on Monday and free pilates on Friday! :D

    On a side note, I found out there's some really good vintage bead stores 5 minutes from my house. I'm going to be making some earrings in the near future and maybe starting up an etsy store. :) I like being creative!
  • Hi everyone I'm new to MFP as of today (thanks to my App Store and some study procrastination) and want to join the monthly challenges! I know it's already mid-month but I think my January goals are pretty reasonable.

    A little bit about me - I used to be in excellent shape and at ideal weight but with a very strict (health related) diet, and working out 3-4x a week. I moved countries and after almost 2 years of slowly losing focus I'm definitely in need of a jump start.
    By March 1st I'd like to get back to my 115lbs - but more so, back to my diet (no wheat, dairy, yeast, meat, sugar) & exercising.

    Any help and motivation is muuch needed! I'll try to do the same in return. Also if anyone is gluten-free I am happy to talk about recipes and tips.

    January goal
    scale goal: 120
    non-scale goal: cut the procrastination, go to yoga class and get on my treadmill - both at least once per week

    Oh and I'm currently 5'6, 121lbs
  • tjradd73
    tjradd73 Posts: 3,495 Member
    just adding cheralicia-welcome to the group!



    skiptomylou32--scale goal: 125, non-scale goal: stop waiting till tomorrow, making excuses, and being complacent with my fitness goals
    Lauratx22-to lose 7 pounds! Weighing 163!
    Roobean33 - cardio 5X/week, lifting 3X/week, try out CrossFit, lose 2lbs, H20 guzzle, take measurements.
    kvr414- 1 hr cardio 3x a week, try 3 new recipes, 12 cups water/day, lose 6 lbs.
    meagalayne- curb late-night snacking and emotional eating, limit carbohydrate consumption after 4pm and experiment with new Low-GI recipes once a week, maintain under 130lbs, and complete first 4 weeks of Hal Higdon's Half Marathon Training (Novice)
    emmarie1630- lose 4 pounds, 4x a week workout, use wii fitness games a ton, MORE WATER!
    wardiemelissa-continue to maintain between 120-125lbs; plan healthy family meals at least 5 nights a week; begin training for half marathon (just need to find one in May or June)
    tjradd73-lose 8lbs, 80oz H20 per day, and cardio 3x per week.
    Mike (CaptainJim) lose 5-8 lbs, 3x (30-60 min) cardio per week, fit into size 32 jeans (I'm 34's right now)
    Finncmh- see a loss on the scale, continue strength training 2x's a week and update the routine at the end of Jan, continue running training- increase to 5 min running intervals, 1 new healthy recipe a week, and get back in to yoga/stretching routine in the am and/or pm
    briar_rose: lose 5 pounds, exercise 3x/week, no potato chips
    mkingraham: lose 15 pounds by Feb 1., exercise 5/6 x a week with 3/4 days of strength training, eat breakfast everyday (a healthy one), two servings of fruit a day.
    GuamGrly (Bethany) - DO NOT focus on the scale. Focus on changing my lifestyle by incorporating fruits and vegetables in my diet more, drinking my water everyday, planning my meals, working out 120 minutes per week, and getting back to C25k traning.
    LostAlyKat (Aly) : Be under 170lbs for the end of the month. Do weight lifting or strength 3 times a week, be active in some way every day. Get back into doing Yoga do a class at least 1 time this month. Write down my feelings more often.
    Stuartme123: JanSW = 156. Check-in with this thread 3-4x/week, 30 min of cardio 3x a week, Restart and keep up with 100 push-up challenge and C25K, Keep unhealthy snacking to under 200 calories/day, Add veggies that wouldn't normally be there to at least one meal a day, Try one new healthy recipe a week, Lose 1lb a week for a total of 4lbs.
    seripha - exercise 5x a week for at least 30 minutes each. Try to eat at least 1 cup of dark green food every day and only 1 sweet thing per day. :)
    miss_amy: to lose 8lbs (38 total lbs), work out 5x a week for an hour & log EVERYTHING!
    Ngoat (nancy): Lose 5lbs, Drink more water, and eat healthier dinners!
    rai8759: lose at least 4 lbs (164 by 1/31/11); work out 3x a week idevelop a consistent weight training regiment and work my way up to 2x a week weight training; drink 8-10 cups of water per day; eat more veggies; track everything in my food diary!!
    Dteg: Scale to lose 5 LBs making under 140 for the first time in 5 years!!!! non scale: to eat more fresh food, eat in more often not going out as much anymore, excerise three times a week
    Allie7383- be at or under 155, eat more fruits/veggies, and drink at least 8 glasses of water per day.
    katecampbell03- Lose 5lbs this month and make time to fit in a work-out before/during/after work
    pags221 - weigh 1.31.11 @ 123lbs / make it to the gym 21 days this month
    Allislefttogain - Stay below 120; run 70 miles; 64 ounces of (straight!) water daily; complete weeks 2-4 of Turbo Fire; try kale & brussel sprouts; strength train 3x a week
    tai_88 - drink at least 8 cups of water a day. I must drink at least 4 cups before i can have tea or my sprite zero; stop mindless/emotional eating; work out at least 4 times a week; log every day; continue the push up challenge; lose 4 lbs.
    spellbinder25 - (1) Continue with C25K, (2) Cook twice a week, (3) Have a serving of fruit everyday, (4) Do strength training thrice a week, (5) Reach 142lbs by the end of Jan.
    KanCrav - I want to loose 5lbs by the end of January
    Silver180 - Stay smoke/fast food free, gym 3x/wk, stay under 2,000 cal/day, drink more water, lose 5 lbs.
    angels and wolves-scale goal: 169 by feb 1st; non-scale goals: continue 30DS everyday, drop a pnt size by feb 1st, give up soda and caffeine, and be able to run a mile.
    Nadine - Scale goals: 125lbs by my next half marathon in March. Non scale goals - successfully check off every scheduled run on my 1/2 marathon training program, thats 4 runs a week. Committ to practicing yoga at least twice a week (running injury preventer!!) Weight train twice a week. Cut fast food, make my own lunches and eating smartly - feeding my body what it needs to perform and feel its best, not foods that taste good but make me tired. My running time goals are in my signature :)
    Nita_Bita - Scale goal: to get between 130-135 by May. Non Scale goals - follow through with TurboFire and eat clean the entire time; document everything that i eat
    bellatiamarie lose 15 pounds; exercise at least 15 times this month (haven't exercised one day yet)
    kls1628- stick to calorie allowance, continue going to the gym 4 times a week but add 20 minutes of cardio to my lifting sessions, drink 8 glasses of water per day.
    cheralicia-to get to 120lbs, and non-scale goal: cut the procrastination, go to yoga class and get on my treadmill - both at least once per week
  • KanCrav
    KanCrav Posts: 439 Member
    its nice to see that I am not the only one thats lost in this thread!~!>. I just keep on reading and hoping that everyones names beocme more familiar so I can relpy how I want to. But now I have to start slow!~!.... Congrats to all you runners!~!~! ... all those running goals got me in the gym today instead of just doing my game at my house. THank You!~!~! Also, good job to everyone who reached their goals!~!

    It was really nice to have everyone support me when I felt like I was doing horrible. Theres no telling what damage I did this weekend though. Im not getting on that scale again til friday and I am gonna work my butt off!~!

    Random question.... I read that a shot of vinegar in the morning will boost your metabolism for the day.... anyone know if there is any truth in this?
  • lostalykat
    lostalykat Posts: 683 Member
    Good morning ladies! (Gents if your around)

    What a busy weekend! I have today off but I am heading to the car dealership here in a minute and then I have a dr appt this afternoon.

    Meag- I hope things are going better for you! You are a total rockstar so don't forget it. Battling stress is a part of this weight loss journey, maybe take some time every day to think about the things you do good. Try not to focus on failure, you are too awesome for that!

    Everyone else sorry in a bit of a hurry.

    I am debating about swimming today since I will have to time, if I do it will be 7 days in a row of exercise and my body is already tired. I might just get up for a super early swim tomorrow. we shall see. I gotta grab stuff for the car dealership so I gotta run guys. BTW turkey bacon sucks, I told the BF if we are going to do bacon lets do the real thing.

    QOTD- What is your favorite healthy breakfast?

    This is hard for me, I like my oatmeal with fresh fruit in it, but a really good veggie omelet is killer!
  • QOTD- What is your favorite healthy breakfast?

    This is hard for me, I like my oatmeal with fresh fruit in it, but a really good veggie omelet is killer!

    Good morning all!

    lostalykat - My favourite by far is a 3 egg white omelette with loads of veggies (peppers, tomatoes, red onion and avocado is my preferred combo). But my regular choice (what I'm eating right now) is oatmeal with fresh blueberries. Luckily my office has a pretty gourmet kitchen staff so it's a little easier to eat the right things.

    What about everyone else?
  • meagalayne
    meagalayne Posts: 3,382 Member
    Morning everyone :ohwell: OK well I wish I was my normal chipper self, but ya, feeling pretty blah today. Here's a long-winded, whiny complaint paragraph for you to skim over:

    This whole food situation has got me feeling terrible. I am SO focused on what I eat right now and am planning way too much around grams and not enough around what I actually FEEL like eating or enjoy having... And that's a problem. It makes me miserable. I spent an hour last night trying to figure out how I could fit a pita into my daily carbs today... I was trying out all kinds of combinations on here. It was so depressing. I don't want my life to look like that forever - Perhaps I just can't reasonably eat 40-30-30? It's just soooo hard to get all my protein in and to stay under carbs, and feeling like I am eating just to fuel and not for anything else is so unlike me. I spent so long losing weight and feeling healthy cooking constantly and trying all kinds of new things before, and now that I've been focused SO hard on eating 40-30-30, I feel like I can't do that anymore. I'm also tired of having egg whites everyday. Seriously. I like them and all, but every day? Ugh. :noway: I never thought food would make me feel so conflicted but I am really, really having a hard time right now. I just need someone to tell me what to do...

    Aly - Thanks girl :ohwell: I appreciate your pick-me-up. I need it today! I know that I am kicking *kitten* and I think I am focusing too much on failing at being "perfect" instead of being just really f*cking good at this. It's a tough balance. I think I might need to just step away from my obsession with logging for a while, or change something else, just to allow me to breathe a little. I do not want to be this obsessive forever.
    QOTD- What is your favorite healthy breakfast?

    This is hard for me, I like my oatmeal with fresh fruit in it, but a really good veggie omelet is killer!
    These two are my staples. Oatmeal/fruit/cinnamon/yogurt or a veggie/protein/egg white scramble. I usually switch up the fruit, either blueberries, banana, grapes, kiwi, whatever I have :happy: Fave egg combination is spinach, peppers, onions, tofu, and nutritional yeast with egg whites and some kind of spice (garlic chili sauce? YES!). Any kind of left-over half portion from dinner of veg+protein mixed with egg whites is always a great start to the day for me as well. Whatever's easy!

    Cheralicia - Welcome to the group! Sounds like your goal diet is even stricter than mine :laugh: May I ask why your goal is to limit your intake so drastically? I only ask because I have gone in the exact opposite direction - more dairy and meats, along with veggies and low-GI carbs - so I am curious what health benefits you are aiming for. Are you celiac or just eating gluten-free for another reason?

    Alright, well today is stretch and strengthen but my body feels like I was hit by a Mack truck right now so I'm not sure what I'll fit in later. Not working out yet. Going to try and get my push-ups in, for sure. For now, heading out to GNC and to run some other errands before the folks leave on vacation. Hoping the sunshine will improve my mood :smile: Thanks for once again listening to my absolutely bat-*kitten* crazy rambling...Love you guys!

    Meag :heart:
  • wardiemelissa
    wardiemelissa Posts: 365 Member
    Quick post...got my 6 mile long run in yesterday to complete my 2nd week of 1/2 training. I lost another pound after upping my calories I'm chalking it up to all the sickness in my house (thankfully not me) so I don't expect it to stay. On my way to pick up my new car (a Traverse) and then hoping to get in my strength and stretching once we get home.

    My hubby downloaded a great mix onto my iPod for me. Very upbeat and has over 300 songs mixed in an hours worth of music...perfect for my long runs. It has everything from 90's to rap. Google DJ Girl Talk :o)

    Melissa
  • Hey Meag, I completely feel your pain with the love-hate relationship with food. Mine isn't so much a balanced intake or portions but yes, the restrictions. Maybe my little story will make your situation seem a little more hopeful!

    It's a verry long story (feel free to skim) but basically I have always had a TON of issues that most of my doctors used to just try to "band-aid fix" with pills and more pills. Most of the issues were hormonal and a lot of the direct problems were considered normal (cramps, irregular cycle etc). So they didn't check past that and I was put on a lot of meds, BCP, and max strength muscle relaxants. - It was messing me up, plus not dealing with all the real problems going on in the background.

    Anyway, when I got engaged I decided to get my stuff checked out, and the Dr came back with a ton of stuff that was wrong, complete hormonal imbalance, cysts, endometriosis etc etc etc. They found out I was insulin resistant (body wasn't registering my natural insulin and I used to eat pounds of sugar as a result of cravings so I had a crazy excess that was turning into estrogen - disaster). Again - the doctor recommended surgery and about 10 pills daily to keep it all in check, plus she dropped in that I should consider having kids asap bc it would be too late in 2 years (I was 22).

    Needless to say - I was beyond terrified but a longtime friend of my mother-in-law is a physician who also became trained in naturopathy, acupuncture and alternative medicine. She travels worldwide to work on cancer cases but agreed to work with me also. She clarified a lot and the diet restrictions came from what my body couldn't process (pretty much anything processed, unnatural, and things that aren't easily digested and turn into sugar). Right – so after a year of her regime (I slowly eliminated foods, not all at once) my tests all came back clear – hormones in check, cysts gone, insulin resistance under control.

    It's not a hard diet to to maintain once you work it into a life plan. I used to diet all the time for weight loss, but once I had this going on I just started eating what I could and what was healthy. I still get protein from seafood, beans and lentils, and can eat rice, and corn. My problem is once I moved to Toronto and away from home (away from Dr. Cathy too) - I got a lot lazier and cheated a lot more - so now I'm getting back on track.

    Phew - sorry! I told you it was a long story! Hope that explains why I"m so restricted. It's not by choice, but if it saves me from being chained to pills all my life - it's worth it.
  • meggonkgonk
    meggonkgonk Posts: 2,066 Member
    Ok all- I know I’ve been MIA and floating around, but I’m just going to hit a few of you and try to keep up better this week. Sorry to anyone I miss.

    Tara- 17 over on my sodium yesterday…Just barely- que sera, I wanted ice cream dammit, and not even sodium would stop me!

    KanCrav (Kandace, right?)- I can’t really speak to the truth of vinegar in particular, but I don’t see why it should do much of anything like that. The only thing I can say is that if it makes sense to you, try it and try to keep note of how it makes you feel- if it makes you feel good, keep it; if it feels gross or just pointless, drop it. It’s all about listening to your body.

    Cheralicia- welcome! Good luck committing to your food plan! Your goals sound great!!

    Meag- I’m not gonna lie, I think that diet split sounds like it’s making you fairly miserable. Idk- what’s that kind of split supposed to accomplish? I mean you are def getting to the point where, I would think, you want to be focusing LESS on logging, not more… right? Idk I’m kind of laid back in terms of what I eat- healthy when it’s convenient for me, tasty badness for me when I want it – so I may not be the best person to give advice, but I would suggest laying off it.

    Random question…Do you have Netflix? If you do go to instant play, look up Gabriel Iglesias “Hot and Fluffy”- watch him. It’s a go to cheer-upper for me, esp when I feel like I’m “failing” at my food in take (it’s were my profile quote is from ) Anywho, my general theory is, too many carbs is proly better for you health wise than too much stress.

    Melissa- Awesome running girl!! I will def check out that play list!

    QOTD- What is your favorite healthy breakfast?

    I have staples for just about every meal- and breakfast in particular, but I would have to say the TASTIEST of my breakfasts is Cinnamon raisin toast with peanut butter. Mmmmmmm Noms.


    AFM: kind of petered off on my workouts toward the end of this week but I did lose almost 2 lbs this week! So got my run in for today and am going to do my best to stick to my training plan this week. Also one of my co-workers (who ran a marathon this last fall) wants me to run a 10K with her in June- it some all girls race in Central Park- and I think I might do it. It sounds like fun, and she is fully aware that I run a snails pace compared to her, so while its kind of intimidating (she ran the NYC at roughly 9:40/mi) it will likely be up to me to set the pace, I also think it sounds kind of fun. I'm thinking of making the 1/2 marathon a fall thing, then doing the 10k in June as my 1st race, then WD in August, then finding a 1/2 for fall. Well its all kind of up in the air right now.

    Run for today went well- it was fartlek intervals and I did the 1st 2.5 mile in just under 25 min- so that's pretty cool (last week I was BARELY getting these done in 13 min/mi). So feelin pretty good. Alright, every one who's off for MLK enjoy the no mondays!

    Peace,
    ~Gonks
  • nadine2unfit2bqueen
    nadine2unfit2bqueen Posts: 153 Member
    Hey everyone,

    Selfish post today (aka rant)

    Went to physio yesterday for my sore foot and the outcome is nothing more than casual walking for 5 days. GRRR It's really annoying as I've been trying so hard to do everything and avoid injuries. Stretching/multi vitamins/following a program/iron supplement/good shoes. Seems like there is always something happening and holding me back.

    I am especially bummed as I was hoping to put another dent in my excess holiday pudge before a date I have on Friday. I know in a week it wouldn't be much different visibly, but its that slimmer/feel good sensation I was going for that even little loses can give you. Any tips on how I can still try to slim down and feel good by friday?

    Since I can't do cardio I know I am going to find it tough this week to stick to my cals. I am used to earning 500+ cals from excersize, I don't think my body is going to like suddenly getting only 1200. Any suggestions on how I can trick my body into thinking its getting more than it is would be most welcome! I know if I feel like I'm starving I'm going to cave and go on an eating frenzy. Maybe I could show up on friday in a Pumpkin suit, test his sense of humour??
  • seripha
    seripha Posts: 92
    Hey Nadine - It's tough when you get sidelined by an injury from your usual workouts. When I'm giving my body a rest day I usually make sure most of my calories are coming from protein, fruit, and veg. I feel way fuller than when I try to fill up on carbs. Personally, I also feel way awesomer when I have eaten a lot of fruit and veg... it makes me feel healthy and skinny! Hopefully that will work for you?

    Gonks - DO IT! DO the 10K. An all girl one would be amazing too!!!

    Meag - I seriously think you should adjust your cals. It's putting you in a bad mood and making you feel deprived. Gonks is right - if you're in the maintenance stage you shouldn't feel like you're doing highly explosive chemistry or something with your food intake. If there isn't a HUGE outcome expected for changing your percentages, you probably want to modify them. I know how much you enjoy your food - and you were doing it healthily! It seems like the change is making you do the opposite now and not enjoy your food. :(

    Cheralica - Welcome to the thread :) I'm glad you were able to get rid (or get to a position where you can manage) of all of those problems with your body. I had a similar situation with cysts but then I found out if I eliminated or greatly reduced my caffeine / chocolate intake they would go away. So I did. No surgery required. It's amazing what changing your diet can do for your body!

    QOTD - I'm either an oatmeal, pumpkin puree, and peanut butter girl or a soft boiled egg and soliders girl. (aka piece of bread cut into long rectangles for dipping into the soft boiled egg center. It's a brit thing :) )

    AFM - Step class was BRUTALLY GOOD. It's been a month since the last class because of the break and the instructor really let us have it to "make up for the last month". Going to use my extra calories for a work event I have to go to tonight. Don't know what kind of food will be there but I'll focus on the veggie and fruit platters and maybe top up with some protein at home when I get back.
  • meggonkgonk
    meggonkgonk Posts: 2,066 Member
    QOTD - I'm either an oatmeal, pumpkin puree, and peanut butter girl or a soft boiled egg and soliders girl. (aka piece of bread cut into long rectangles for dipping into the soft boiled egg center. It's a brit thing :) )

    Uuuuum *yoink* Stolen. I <3 Soft boiled eggs.
  • GuamGrly
    GuamGrly Posts: 600 Member
    QOTD - during the week, I count on my oatmeal with brown sugar and raisins. But I need to re-vamp that cause the raisins have more calories than I would like to spend and a lot of sugar. May do some experimenting with the pumpkin again. On the weekends, its usually egg beaters with zucchini and squash.
  • meggonkgonk
    meggonkgonk Posts: 2,066 Member
    QOTD - during the week, I count on my oatmeal with brown sugar and raisins. But I need to re-vamp that cause the raisins have more calories than I would like to spend and a lot of sugar. May do some experimenting with the pumpkin again. On the weekends, its usually egg beaters with zucchini and squash.

    I like a banana sliced really thin in my oatmeal- doesn't really solve your sugar problem completely but its quite tasty (and you don't need the brown sugar)
  • seripha
    seripha Posts: 92
    You could try adding unsweetened applesauce? That's delicious warm :D
  • Hi ladies! I am back from my weekend. I am terrible about logging my calories and checking the thread on the weekends for some reason. I am so behind, so just a quick selfish post. Thanks for the birthday wishes! I had a good weekend and didn't over indulge too much! School starts back tomorrow...blah... But I'll be done for good in May and finally get to go back to work! I'm so excited about my schedule because I'll be able to get my workout in first thing in the morning every day. Not really anything else to report here. Hope you guys have a great evening and a good day tomorrow!

    QOTD--my breakfast EVERY day that I LOVE is half a cup of fiber one cereal with blueberries and strawberries in it with almond milk and two cups of coffee!
  • rai8759
    rai8759 Posts: 296 Member
    This post is going to be looooong. I’ve not been keeping up like a good girl should.

    Laurn - Congrats on the weight loss! Keep going! You will absolutely meet that 155!
    Finn – I hear you girl. Just surfing the internet or reading a magazine can get my head in a twist about that TO do what NOT TO do. I decided in the new year to re-simplify. I was taking on so much that I was just setting myself up for frustration (I feel mostly in the exercise department). I’m also a planner and go pretty bonkers and allow myself to eat really crappy if I don’t. I’m not 2 strict, but I need to know there is something healthy for dinner or I’ll get so hungry and just grab something fast food. I’m glad you got your rage out!! And I know you won’t let that stop you!
    Wardie- I’m glad your ½ marathon group is growing. It seems you are a real motivator to the people around you. Great job!! And great attitude about weight loss a la sick. Lol.
    Meag – Sounds like you are really having a tough time with your carb, protein, fat split. This is probably something you wouldn’t agree with, but maybe you should just let it go… maybe not permanently, but for a little while? Or try to ease into it? I feel like just counting calories can be a stress-fest by itself if I don’t plan. I can’t yet conceive of trying to do averages and percentages etc etc (…and honestly if I had to cut down carbs I think I would need some kind of therapy. Whether that is healthy or not is another story. Haha). But to be real we have to eat healthy, but we still have lives to live and people to see. It makes me sad to hear you don’t want to eat with anyone else. Still stick to your guns, but also please be happy =D. We all love you and want you not to stress too bad. Besides – Stress makes you fat. Lol.
    TJ – Congrats on the elliptical! Water drinking is tough. Some days I feel like I could drink the ocean and other days I loathe the thought…I wonder why that is…I recently “borrowed” my husband’s water bottle from college that carries 4 cups at a time. I carry it around all day and take sips so I don’t feel like I have to chug chug chug. I know I have to drink it twice, so it is kind of a game which is motivating to me.
    Kat – really? No to turkey bacon?… I LOVE IT!! But I also do not really like regular bacon.. different strokes I guess. My husband eats it, but he says “This is good, but you have to know it is no where near regular bacon right?!” haha…not for me!
    Seripha – Lunch break exercise classes?! Sweet!! Good job on the run and have fun with those beads! Etsy has some super cute stuff.
    Cheralicia- Welcome!
    Gonks – Sounds like that 10K is going to a fun challenge. It is always easier to do something like that with a friend. Congrats on the loss.
    Nadine- Me sitting at home unable to exercise is a recipe for disastrous snacking. I normally try to pick things that are more nutrition dense AND I make some kind of rule. For example, if I eat I cannot eat for 3-4 hours after or until I drink 4 glasses of water or whatever. That stops me from just snacking because I’m bored. Also have a non-food project at hand that excites you. Need to catch up on scrap booking? Read that book that you’ve not had time to? Now is the time.
    Lou – HAPPY BIRTHDAY!! Sounds like you had a great time and are ready to get right back into eating healthy and tracking. Great!

    AFM: Been having a really really strange weight loss journey these past two weeks. I lost over 4 lbs in a week which had nothing to do with eating right and exercising because I did neither (extra Christmas weight coming off?). Gained back 0.4 lb this wi which is good since my weight has stayed about the same after that crazy loss. Have not been tracking consistently last week or the week before, but I feel like I’m getting my groove back finally. In the end I’ve already met my weight goal for January, but I would like to see another two lbs come off by 1/31/11. Went to the gym for the first time in ages today and signed up for a lower body/ab/back class on Wednesday to set up a routine. Will sign up for the upper body one for Friday. Will do some meal planning tonight and shopping in the morning on the way back home. Also planning on getting a 3 mi run in with the puppy tomorrow. I’m re-tackling this thing!!

    B-Fast: Meal One: Oatmeal, 2 tsp sugar, 10 chopped almonds (easy morning)
    Meal Two: Two eggs, salsa, whole wheat toast with low fat cream cheese (gearing up for a long day)
  • meagalayne
    meagalayne Posts: 3,382 Member
    Unsolicited advice - Opt out of sugar in your oatmeal, folks, and try adding fruit and cinnamon! You'll love the extra cals and the refined sugar is so hard for your body to process. I know it seems like a tough switch but you'll stop craving the sugar in the morning - promise! I haven't sweetened my oatmeal in a long time, but I used to ALWAYS use sweetener. You just get used to it and then find that having sugar is just wayyy too much of a good thing. Oats, serving of fruit, cinnamon and 1/2 serving of yogurt = such a filling, yummy, balanced breakfast! The sugar just makes you crash mid-morning, I find, and if you cook the fruit in a little (cut up apples in with my oats + water, for ex) it releases its natural sugars into the oats and you don't even notice that the sugar is left out. Just give it a try! :happy:

    Short post. The boy is waiting in bed for me already. We've got an early morning for him to commute to work, so I better get going. Just wanted to update with y'all first. Changed my %s to 50-25-25 today and I'm feeling 100% better already. I know it's ALL mental, but whatever. I need to just get it out of my head and get back to being healthy - physically and mentally - and not so obsessive.

    Have a great night everyone - I'll catch back up in the AM!
    Meag:heart:
  • jillybeanruns
    jillybeanruns Posts: 1,420 Member
    Back from my lovely long weekend. Wanted to get in 20-25 running miles over the weekend, but I was busy and the conditions were nearly unbearable to run in. My winter running gear (although nice and costly) is just no match for the conditions I faced over the weekend. I did manage to run 17ish miles though, so not too shabby! I also managed to do all of NMTZ Sunday before my nearly 6 mile run. Legs are on FIIIIIRE today. Plan is Core 20 + Stretch 40 + HIIT 25 possibly. Getting about 6-8 inches of snow right now, so my plan will probably change as I have to shovel a bit.

    Interview went really well yesterday. Interview ended at 2ish, and at 9:30 this morning I had a call requesting that I come back for a second interview. Trying to finagle that (it's about a 3.5 hour drive from where I am now) and possibly see if it can be a phone interview with the big boss. My boss will KILL me if I take off more time:grumble:

    Happy Tuesday everyone!
  • mkingraham
    mkingraham Posts: 445 Member
    Good morning, almost afternoon, everyone.

    So this morning I woke up at my usual 5:30, got dressed and was all ready to head to spin. Then I took a step outside. There was 1.5 inches of ICE on the ground. I tettered my way to my car, and the doors were frozen shut=awesome. Needless to say I did not make it to spin. I sprinkled some salt on our sidewalk, let it sit for about 15 minutes, then I grabbed the shovle. I spent a solid 45 minutes scrapping ice off the sidewalk not only in front of our house but our neighbors as well. (I live in a townhouse so it would be rude not to). I managed to make it from my house to my 3rd neighbor to the left then had to come inside to warm up. After about a 10 minute rest to get all toasty I started working my way to the right. I scrapped all the way to in front of my two neighbors to the right so that I could make it to my car without busting my butt. That took me until about 8 am. Then I was able to actually open my husbands car doors so I started working on defrosting his car.

    I finally got his car completely defrosted and drivable around 8:45. I quickly changed and made it into work by 9:40. Considering I would normally be at work around 6:15, work out, and then up to my desk around 8 this was a really late start.

    I am interested in seeing how sore my arms are going to be later today after doing all that pushing and scopping of thick sheets of ice. I did however get to weigh-in. Down 2 lbs! Making it a total of 8.5 lbs so far in Jan and 13 lbs so far. The great news is that it keeps coming off my fat mass which is key!

    Any ways- I just wanted to get in a post about my crazy morning and I will catch up with you all later this afternoon. Hope your days are fantastic!!

    Megan
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