6-week challenge: Spring into Fitness

roselynsy

ok. I know I am a week late to this challenge, but I've been off the wagon for six months.I've got a long list of excuses, but i choose to cast them down. So, in one month, give or take a few days, I choose to lose
SW178.8
CW178.8
by April 25> 160
by May 25> 148
by June 25> 135
GW 135.0
What do you think,people, can it be done?

to hit 160 by the 25th you would need to lose 3.76lbs a week (thats alot) if you ate 2000cals a day you would need to burn from exercise 13160 cals a week from exercise (if my maths is right) and if tour working out that much you must eat at least your 2000 cals aday as your daily burn would need to be 1880, your net intake would only be 120cals a day. so if my maths is right after working that out id say workout more so you can eat more. (but when your full your full) good luck x

madamelaporte

No worries Olivia just didnt want to be missed off in the future just in case I lose lol

singer201

47 minute walk, 40 minutes yard work = 555 calories burned and colors in my food. Sun is shining today!

oliviawink

Hi guys, glad to see everyone is doing pretty good on their exercise. I'm been hitting 500 on average so I'm happy, sore, but happy. I'm kinda in a food rut now though. Yesterday wasn't a great day, I didn't go over my budget thanks to my workout but I went out to eat instead of cooking what I have. I'm tired of the same old things so I've got to figure out a way to mix things up. I like the soup idea (considering we just got blasts with more snow!). So I'm off to look at cookbooks and then the store.

@nikkimarie - go to cookinglight.com, you'll get great low cal meal ideas there. I've been on a kick of trying recipes from their mexican dishes

jessicamarie81

I love cookinglight.com too, great site for healthy easy meals to make, I like reading the reviews.
Lots of colors in my food today!
Still working on burning 200 more calories this evening somewhere...did 300 on the xbox again today. I think I will either do that again or do some walking.

oliviawink

got close to all my colors today:
breakfast - 5 (as noted earlier)

lunch (weight watchers mexican soup): 5
yellow: corn
red: tomato, red pepper, jalepenos
green: green beans & peas
white: greek yogurt, garlic
light green/yellow green: tomatillos
purple: blackberries

dinner: 4
red & green: chard
white: chicken
yellow: yellow pepper
orange: carrots
(going to drink a beer at trivia, does that count as a color: golden? :laugh: )

just under 100 cals left to burn. off to workout with my neighbor and hit 500+ for the day. midday I wanted to call it a day for exercising, but I'm pushing through and feeling good about it!

chickadee2010

chickadee2010 checking in for today
1. Accumulate 500-ish calories burned daily 2/7
2. Food colors 0/7

Calorie burned total: 1354/3500
I only got 312 burned today. Breakfast and lunch colors, I did get.
Edit: I got more calories burned in, 15.

aab1

@ Madamelaporte - you're about to hit double digit weight loss! WoooHooo!!! Keep up the great work!


Week 2 / Day 3
Exercise - 1230 for total of 3567/ 3500 (cycle, walk, ran)
Food -
Breakfast - white, red, green
Lunch - orange, yellow, red, white, green
Dinner - white, red, green, brown

LeslieRoyale

***MASSIVE STRESS ALERT***

LOL!! Hi ladies! Just wanted to check in, so no one would think I'm ducking out
First of all, thank you for the kind words, over the loss of my friend. I really appreciate it.

Ok, no more tears...
Work is killing me right now, making me feel very defeated, and I'll be honest, I really don't feel like working out. But I'm hoping a couple of advil pm's and a good nights sleep will take care of that!
Colors today:
Breakfast-
Beige-kashi oatmeal...yumm
White-almond milk...double yum
maroon-currants
Coffee & creamer (that's my breakfast staple-ha ha)
Lunch-
HORRIBLE work cafeteria choices-
White-ravioli filled with Brown mushrooms
Cream & Green-mystery sauce for ravioli
Brown again-1 piece of filet...seriously, terrible offerings today!
Dinner-
Red-pasta sauce
varying browns-turkey & mushrooms
white-ish-whole wheat spaghetti
Green-green beans

At least I AM thinking about it, and TRYING!! (yesterday was much better)

Everyone is doing so great, keep up the awesome work!! :flowerforyou:
Leslie

oliviawink

@leslie - hang in there. if you can keep up a sensible diet and even a little bit of exercise in the midst of this diffiuclt than you know you are changing your life in good ways. It's the hard times that really test us. Remember that you will cope better with life stresses when your mind and body are fueled with healthy food and exercise. My thoughts are with you...

roselynsy

just a quick checkin i got all my colours in for every meal yesterday and today so far so good. also i should hit 3500 cals burned be end of day woop woop

kylakesgal

Good morning:)
Just letting you know I'm still hangin in there lol. I'm so sore from working out. I didn't realize how outta shape this middle-aged woman was until this week!!! I've been doing the 500 calories everyday and was really sore yesterday but this morning,, wow,, I could barely walk. I've been walking on my road and there is a monster of a hill to climb! I've been doing good on getting colorful foods in and I'm increasing my calories this week to an extra 200-300 because I think I've not been eating enough although I don't feel hungry, everytime I would close out my food diary for the day, it would tell me I'm starving myself. I know drinking all the water keeps my tummy full but this may be what I need to move forward. I thought I had been working out pretty good but this week I'm learning that maybe I wasn't pushing myself enough. Good luck to everyone today:)

Julieash

hi ladies.. sorry that I forgot to weigh in this week... I'm back up to 150lbs which makes me really sad because last week I went all the way down to 146lbs.. anyway first my boyfriend got really sick then my daughter so me taking care of both of them got me sick and now my ankle's been hurting for a while so my doctor said to stay off of it at least for this week... so no workouts for me this week and since I'm sick and depressed that I can't workout I'm just eating to much...doesn't make any sense I know..

Anyway next Monday I want to and have to get back on track.. ) I hope everyone else is doing good )

debcarv

I'm headed in the right direction, which is down. Food colors are rainbowed, exercise is limited at times due to some health issues I've had, but losing as I go. This has been the best thing I could have done for myself in joining MFP. So many helpful and supportive people I've been in contact with, it's great. Thankyou all!!:flowerforyou:

oliviawink

Like angela (kylakesgal) and I'm sure many of you, my muscles are also sore today. This is a good thing (hard to believe, right?!?) and means we are getting stronger and healthier. I thought today was a good day to talk about muscle soreness, what causes it and how to relieve it so you can be strong and healthy.

Muscle soreness is caused by a build up of lactic acid. This is a secretion that your body makes when your muscles work hard and are getting stronger. Lactic acid causes soreness when it pools in your muscles and gets stuck there. It's not dangerous and does not mean you are injured, but it sure is annoying. Here are some things that you can do to relieve the discomfort and soothe those hard working biceps, triceps, quads, calves and more....

1. workout... seriously! I know it seems counter-intuitive, but it's a great way to get the lactic acid out because it causes the muscles to work. This will squeeze out the acid, much like wringing out a washcloth. If you're real sore, you probably should take it easy - yoga, walking, stretching, because if you overwork you'll make more lactic acid. Definitely avoid intense strength training
2. drink water, tons and tons of water. Together with #1, this will make a huge difference. If you're working out your muscles, you also need water to help flush the acid out of the muscles
3. do lots and lots of stretches throughout the day
4. take your vitamins (and eat your rainbow), particularly increase your intake of potassium and magnesium. These two minerals are essential for healthy muscle function, helping to repair damaged tissue and make you stronger faster
5. take a warm bath (add bubbles, candles and a romance novel, and you'll really feel like a new woman) and then gently stretch after. The heat from the bath makes your muscles more pliable (less stiff) and when you stretch the acid can more freely around and out of your muscles (a hot shower works too, but it's not as much of a treat). If you have an area that is particularly sore, use a heating pad on it, then stretch, heat again and stretch again. This works wonders. NEVER ice then stretch - it causes the fibers to tear because they are not as pliable when they are cold (envision the difference between the malleability of a warm candy bar vs. a frozen one - same effect on your muscles).
6. get a massage. a deep tissue massage will force the lactic acid out of your muscles. Of course, it'll hurt like heck while you are getting it, this is NOT one of those this-feels-so-good-I'm-almost-asleep kind of massages, this is a tiny bit of torture. But a few hours (and a LOT of water) later, you'll feel amazing

Try these things out to keep your body healthy and safe from injury. If you feel pain or discomfort that is not muscular (heel pain, ankle/achilles heal soreness, knee pain) DO NOT push through it. Listen to your body and take it easy, you do not want to make a minor irritation into a major injury, this will only set you back in the long run.

Great job everyone. I'm so proud of you all who are rising up, giving it your all and meeting this challenge. You all inspire me to keep my commitment to my own self and my own health!

roselynsy

i forgot about the colours for lunch i was out with me sister and we bought lunch it was only after that i relised i only had two colours i did pinch one of my sister peas/sweetcorn and white fish to make 5 but i dont think it really counts i was determins to complete both challanges this week. still on the up cals burn from exercise 3885 the most ive ever burnt in 5 days probs my hole life. done lots of walking which has been nice as all the spring flowers are out. after todays walk im very tired so i think ill be giving level 1 day 13 of the shred a miss, i can wait to tomorrow. and im thinking of having sunday completely exercise free but will see how i am. tea (with 5 colours) bath then bed for me today x would like to thank olivia again for the challenge i really have pushed myself this week (hope it show on the scales) im hoping for a 2.6lb loss this week so fingers crossed.

kylakesgal

Thanks Olivia for the great information. I thought by walking it out last night that it would help but it didn't. I did take a long bath last night just as hot as I could stand it and it helped some. I'm planning on taking a long walk when I get off work today. So glad it's not dark now when I get off work!! I usually don't stretch after walking but starting today, I am. Hopefully that will take care of some of this soreness. My muscles just aren't just to this intense of a workout and for me it helps spreading it out during the day. I was off yesterday so I walked in the afternoon and then again last night. I was a less than 100 calories for reaching the 500 so I danced for 10 mins. (YES i finally reached it) Have a great day~

aab1

Thanks, Olivia, for sharing the information!

A deep tissue massage would be a great reward for achieving a mini-goal (or completing our SiF challenge)!!

lolabugs

I burned 372 calories line dancing for an hour last night.

Total calorie burn: 2343/3500

I guess I was a little confused about the color theme. I thought it was just for fruits and veggies. Now I realize it's colors in general. Here are my colors for yesterday:

Breakfast:
Brown - Atkins Meal Bar


Lunch:
Brown - Wheat Thins Reduced Fat Crackers
Pink - Laughing Cow Light Sun Dried Tomato and Basil Wedge
White - Fage 0% Greek Yogurt Cherry W/ Goji Berries
Orange - Carrots
Red - Sabra Sun Dried Tomato Hummus

Dinner:
Green - Lettuce
White & Yellow - Hard Boiled Egg
White/Brown - Grilled Chicken
Red - Tomato Slices
Orange - Shredded Cheddar Cheese
Black - Olives

madamelaporte

@ Madamelaporte - you're about to hit double digit weight loss! WoooHooo!!! Keep up the great work!

I know its so hard to get there though
3 weeks and Ive lost no weight
Thanks for the encouragement

roselynsy

doh is it really not saturday tomorrow. im so tired i was sure it was it my secound eldest said i needed to read over her homework that needed to be in for the morrow. doh doh doh. im so tired i think ill have tomorrow off guess ill be over on my calorie goal (i really like food far to much) still i will eat heathly and try to stay within but without exercise 1200 is just to few looking fwd to a well earned rest

singer201

47 minutes walking, 47 minutes lawn mowing (the first for the season). All the walking I've done the last 2 months has paid off--last summer it was taking about an hour to do the lawn, and I'd be wiped out. I did it in addition to my walk, and I'm tired, but not exhausted.

Still getting the colors in my food. Off to work now.

chickadee2010

chickadee2010 checking in for today
1. Accumulate 500-ish calories burned daily 2/7
2. Food colors 0/7

Calorie burned total: 1375/3500
I only got 23 burned today and I ate horribly. I was in and out all day, so I didn't do good at anything today.

stefv86

Hello everyone!

I fail at colors

Breakfast was cereal- brownish-white-tannish (it was cinnamon toast crunch. :P) & white milk
Lunch I think I did it, a bunch of veggies (red, green, yellow) noodles (yellow) sauce (brown) and natural cheetos (orangish)
dinner was a fail Brown only because I had buffalo wings. :P

But I had a GREAT workout today! I feel great about it!

but, in total

500/cals/day: 1/7
Colors: 0/7 (full days, anyway, I've done it for a few meals)

I'm trying! I swear!

kylakesgal

Sounds like everyone is doing great! Just checking in before bed. I wasn't able to do my 500 calories today but I did get in 365. I am still sore from 2 days ago doing the fitness evolved on xbox. It is pretty intense and did tons of lunges which I felt great that day but ouch when I woke up yesterday morning. I was reading about it,, actually has a name, it's called DOMS or delayed onset muscle soreness. It said it could last 3-7 days! Eventually I'm sure my muscles will get stronger and hopefully won't get so sore. I took it easier today and did some walking and low impact stuff. Anyone else getting sore this week? Taking a hot bath and getting some much needed sleep since I couldn't sleep much last night. Hope everyone has a wonderful Friday:)

aab1

Week 2 / Day 4
Exercise - 875 for total of 4442 / 3500 (belly dancing, cycle, 30DS)
Food -
Breakfast - white, red, green
Lunch - orange, yellow, red, white, green
Dinner - yellow, white, red, green, brown

I'm still struggling with the 5-colors; especially breakfast. I think this will be a challenge that I'll personally continue into the upcoming weeks.

Today's postings were fairly light - I hope everyone is doing well out there!!!

oliviawink

@aab - it was a quiet day on here, wasn't it?

Got my colors in yesterday, but only b/c I stretched the "rules" a little - Made a smoothie for morning snack with lots of colored fruits (yellow, orange, red, blue, purple, white).
Lunch was weight watchers mexican soup with a smoked salmon quesadilla (yellow, white, pink, red, green, orange)
dinner: tandoori chicken with yogurt sauce, brown basmatic rice and sweet potato (red, white, green, brown, orange)

I'm noticing that orange and yellow are the hardest colors for me to get in. I naturally am drawn to green and red for fruit/veggie colors. Funny, I never would have expected that. Guess that's why something like this is good to do, you learn where your weaknesses are so you can focus there and change your ways.

I keep having this (kinda strange) phenomenon happen to me and I'm wondering if anyone knows what or why this happens...
So if I show weightloss on one day, then the next when I step on the scale I'm always a bit higher. So on Wednesday I was 172, on Thursday I was 174. Now today I'm back to 172. Anyone know what the deal is with that?

kylakesgal

Olivia I just heard on the radio this morning that when you are strength training, you can expect to see a flucuation of up to 5 lbs. I have noticed that a lot with me too. It really messes with me! It's odd though because I will be up almost every day but on weigh in day, I'll be down which is great! I'm working on eating my colors although breakfast is my toughest challenge because I'm a work and usually eating on the go. Have a great weekend:)

oliviawink

Olivia I just heard on the radio this morning that when you are strength training, you can expect to see a flucuation of up to 5 lbs. I have noticed that a lot with me too. It really messes with me! It's odd though because I will be up almost every day but on weigh in day, I'll be down which is great! I'm working on eating my colors although breakfast is my toughest challenge because I'm a work and usually eating on the go. Have a great weekend:)

Thanks angela. I wonder why that is? lactic acid build-up? water retention? who knows
That's great that on WI day you're always down, as I'm sure you've noticed over the last 6-weeks or so, It's the day after WI that I'm always down. Consistently show weightloss on Tuesdays. It's my unofficial WI day.

jessicamarie81

Hello and good morning everyone! I don't think I posted yesterday...in the morning I was feeling a little off because I went and ate lunch at my fiances daughters elementary school. It's funny how some things break up your routine and you feel weird about it! But I found my motivation and rocked it out anyways later in the day.
As far as the colors go, I think I've been doing pretty good. Breakfast is still the hardest to get it all in. Olivia, I'm drawn to orange and yellow because I LOVE cheese, lol. I need to work on my greens for sure. I tried whole wheat pasta last night for my spaghetti by Healthy Harvest and it was delish!
I definitely fluctuate when it comes to strength training! I started this challenge at 167 but as I check my weight through the week (can't help it!), I am 168-169. Today I'm back down to 167. The past couple days I've been trying something, intaking more calories. I feel like my weight loss has stalled, the first 10 came off pretty easily! Now that I'm increasing my exercise I think it's time to up the cals. And today lo and behold I was back down to 167. I'm not sure I'll meet my goal for this challenge, but never say never! Even if I just lose inches again, I will be happy. I keep touching my abs and can't believe how flat and toned they are becoming. I could totally see a six pack in my future if I keep it up...Now if I could just blast the lower belly fat off! I keep feeling my arms too and the muscles, woohoo! Amazing feeling!
Well, I've rambled enough, lol. I hope everyone has an awesome Friday getting your colors and exercise in. This challenge week has been great, I don't think I've ever burned 500 a day yet and this is just what I needed.
I was reading on DOMS last night too Angela after you told me about it. That is exactly what happens to me every time I start the shred. Believe it or not, more exercise the next day takes the pain away...but low impact, don't be in agony! And then usually the next day the pain disappears or in 72 hours. It's uncomfortable but your body is adapting and will thank you for it. Hot baths always feel great!