**!!** TEAM WITHERING A WEIGH -- AUGUST CHALLENGE WK 1 **!!

juleseybaby

Hello Team WITHERING A WEIGH!!! :bigsmile: :bigsmile: :bigsmile:

Here is my 'pretty much standard' intro...

My name is Julie - my friends call me Jules. I am 37, mom of 3, married for 15 years next month. I am fairly blunt and at times offer WAY TMI. I have been too big since I was around 10. I never knew what a healthy weight was really. I saw that I was bigger than the rest of the kids - but not as big as some. Then junior high happened. Being ostracized is never fun. Especially at that age when all most girls want is to fit in with everyone else. (I never got that 'I wanna be different and I don't care what people think' attitude.) Thanks to the 'twins', I figured out what group would not ostracize me all the time... boys. But most didn't really want to be my friend. Tough lessons.

I remember being called a hippo (thanks dad), a bubble butt ('tis true - and now thanks to JLo - I can keep that part and still be considered sexy), and having people stare. I remember that as a child I had to clean my plate or else. If I made a face or said 'yuck' about something, I was given a second helping. My parents were just doing what they had learned from their parents. Well - I am going to BREAK THE CYCLE.

I am taking steps to repair my self-esteem. I have stopped caring so much about what others think (sorry, sometimes - LOL). I want to be healthy for ME! I want to be an example to my kids. I want to stop shopping in the plus sized section/stores. I want to stop the back pain, the knee pain, the IBS, etc. I want to look better than I did in high school for my 20 year reunion next summer!! Then - when I go on a cruise next December - I want to be able to wear a bathing suit and not cringe at the sight of myself in the mirror!!

I am STOKED that we are doing this!! It is just the sort of thing I need to kick me in the booty and keep me honest and motivated over the weekends. You will probably see some 'yuck' food and alcohol in my diary. I am lazy and I absolutely HATE cooking. I do try to work it all off though when I know I am going over. I welcome constructive suggestions and I look forward to cheering all of you on!

Here’s what we need…

Respond to this post! Introduce yourself – give us a name in case it is not obvious.

I need each of you to determine a realistic weight loss goal for August and send it to me. (PM or post on this thread – whichever works best for you.)

Also please submit ideas – I have to give Gary a list of 7 challenges for the month. (2 Cardio, 2 Distance Challenges, 1 Food Challenge and 2 Strength Challenges).

My thoughts on cardio = walking and aerobics
My thoughts on distance = 2 miles, 3 miles
Food challenge = stay under calorie goal? try to meet protein recommendations?
Strength = crunches? pushups?

These are not set in stone – but remember that we are trying to set realistic, achievable goals. (For example – it may not be a good idea to set a strength challenge that involves lifting weights since it could be that not everyone has access to them.)

I also would really love it if someone could design a team logo with a spot for all 21 of our names. I will try later – but at this point I do not have access to any software that will work.

amsparky
amymoore728
dk_runs
faye_daisy
Gary1977
Jitteryspork
keeks8281
lanet7
LiveLaughLose♥
LouD76
MissWangle
nrtenagrl
pugs4eyes
saypickles
ShannGall
skbruewer
susanleasings
tbhoover
teamkelly
Xelisharose

Friend each other and let’s really motivate everyone!! I am still waiting to hear from lanet7 and tbhoover. Please message me. This challenge officially begins next Monday and I want to make sure our team is complete, closed, and ready to go!! I have one waiting in the wings for an open spot on this team...

Thanks so much to Gary for starting this and for trusting me to be a team lead!

I CANNOT WAIT TO KICK THE CRAP OUT OF AUGUST!!!

kathy140

i would like to join this group
Kathy

MissWangle

Hello! Well I guess I will go first! My name is Jasmin, mostly called Jazz! I am 22 and am to be married next year to MRMAKO. My reasons for doing the challenge are to feel like my personality and body fit! To not have 'awww your face is so pretty comments' anymore. To look stunning on my wedding day!

My goal is to be around 13.12 (Currently 14.3) stone by the end of august! I want my size 14 jeans to be on the baggy/more comfortable size! My holiday is in september also and I go WEDDING DRESS SHOPPING WITH MY MAMA!!

Any other questions please feel free!

juleseybaby

i would like to join this group
Kathy

Hi Kathy! This is currently a closed group - my team is FULL!! The challenge may still be open though... check for the August Challenge post from Gary6030 or message him to let him know you want to join.

juleseybaby

Change to the team list... sorry - there has been some shuffling as we prepare to close out...

tbhoover has been moved to another team

Bounre has been added

juleseybaby

My goal is to be around 13.12 (Currently 14.3) stone by the end of august!

Please translate the stones for me! I keep seeing that. I am from across the pond and have no clue what a stone means!!

Agate69

I most likely am the "old lady" of the group at 60, but I promise not hold back this team, and will support each and every one of you. I just finished a 90 day weight loss challenge at my fitness club and came in 2nd locally and in the top 100 nationally. I have started a new 90 day Team challenge and thus go to a group fitness session Mon, Wed, and Friday at 6 AM. Yup we are a bunch of early morning risers who love to be pushed by our PT. I also do resistance training with my PT once a week. Can you tell I feel like a new woman after losing so much weight.

My personal goals for August is to eat 6 consistant healthy meals each day.
Eat 80+ grams of protein (yes, that is a lot)
Exercise a minimum of 5x a week and train for a 5 K this fall.
Increase my servings each day of non starcy vegetables
Celebrate not drinking any soda (diet or regular) for an entire year.


What are we tracking as a team???? I am new to MFP

Name should be obvious

DLMcCutchen79

My name is Debbie. I am 31, have been married 11 years on August 19, 2011. I have three children; boy/girl twins who are 9 and a 5 year old boy. I'm also a proud mom of two four legged, furry children, an 18 month old Miniature Schnauzer and a 6 month old Miniature Goldendoodle. My reason for wanting to get healthier and lose weight is to live a long healthy life for my children and hopefully future grand-children. April 29, 2011 I went to the doctor and was shocked when I weighed in at 231 pounds. I knew then I had to do something and get my weight under control. Since then I have lost 29 pounds (hopefully more by Monday as I wanted to be under the 200lb. mark by August 1st) by trying to make healthier decisions about what I'm eating, and lots of exercise. Exercise is something I've never really been happy to do, but at this point in my life it has clicked with me and I hate to miss a day at the gym. My husband now jokes about me being obsessed with exercise. My first mini goal was to be under 200lbs. by August 1, 2011. My first big goal is to lose 51 pounds, I don't have a date set for it, just getting 50 pounds off is an accomplishment to me no matter how long it takes!! My goal weight is between 115 and 130, I don't care as much about the number, I just want to be in the healthy range! I also want to mention faye_daisy is my cousin and even though we are separated by hundreds of miles, I'm glad we are doing this together!

As for the challenges I don't really know what to suggest, this is the first challenge I have been in so my ideas may not be along the lines of a normal challenges... I will say though that I think the 2 to 3 miles for distance is low if that is for the entire month. I average about 16 miles in a week which is equivalent to 4 hours of cardio exercise for me. For strength, I don't know if this works but maybe we could say try one new strength each week that you have not done before. Or maybe set a target goal for how many crunches you want to do each week and add at least 5 additional crunches than the previous week?? For cardio we could set a calories burned goal that increases each week?? I'm also not sure if we are trying to meet individual goals or if the goals will be the same for everyone?

DLMcCutchen79

I forgot to add I would like to lose 8 pounds in August if that is a realistic goal.

dk_runs

Hi Everyone!
First of all, let me just say, anyone who sets a goal and works hard to achieve it is AMAZING in my book…which means I am going to get know a lot of AMAZING people on Team WITHERING A WEIGH.

My name is Dianne and as my user name “dk_runs” implies, I like to run. I am 45 and half and I didn’t start running until I was 41. Learned how to swim when I was 43 and at 45 I am learning the ropes of the “big boy” weight room at the gym. (And Zumba – but that’s another story for another time) The pattern here is: I didn’t take fitness seriously until I was in my forties.

Since the beginning of the year, I have lost 15 lbs (4 lbs since joining MyFitnessPal) and I am now down to that last pesky 5lbs…which for all my running will NOT go away. June and July were “bad” eating (and drinking) months for me as I was on vacation and we had a lot of company visiting us. Now, I am trying to get back on track and I do believe, along with the rest of you, we will “kick the crap” out of August. *On a side note: My vacation was in Colorado and that state has the best beer! Microbreweries, craft beer and beer tours – oh my!:drinker:

I think a realistic weight loss goal for me would be 2 ½ lbs. The less you have to lose, the harder it is.:sad: I know, boo-hoo.

I am not quite sure what you/Gary are looking for as challenges…so it was challenging to come up with challenges…but I took a stab at it anyway. Here goes:

Cardio Challenge Ideas: 1. Doing cardio 3 -4 days a week; 2. Participating in a 5k (running, walking, crawling…whatever moves you)

Distance: 1. The 5k idea again; 2. Increasing your walking/running mileage by 30 to 40%
Example: if you currently walk 6 miles a week, but the end of the challenge, you would be walking 7.80 miles to 8.40 miles

Food Challenge: Stay within your calorie intake goals 5 out 7 days

Strength Challenge: 1. Doing this horrid things called “planks” and work up to holding the “plank” for 30 – 45 seconds. 2. Push-up – wherever you are at with this now, increase by 5 to 10. So if you can only do two (This is where I am at now, your goal would be to do 7 – 10)

Thanks so much Julesybaby for organizing and leading our team!

MissWangle

My goal is to be around 13.12 (Currently 14.3) stone by the end of august!

Please translate the stones for me! I keep seeing that. I am from across the pond and have no clue what a stone means!!

I am currently 199lbs and want to be 190. My figures above aint even right! haha! x

keeks8281

Hello everyone! My name is Kim (but some friends call me Keeks as seen in my username ). I am happily married to an amazing guy and among many other things enjoy traveling (especially to London), photography, being crazy with good friends, and coffee. I LOVE coffee.

I've been overweight most of my life. I'm on the tallish side for girls (5'8") so I've always felt pretty large everywhere I go. My highest weight ever was 210 and I vowed to never see that on the scale again. So far I've managed (very slowly) to lose weight these past few years. I'm currently 182 lbs. and a size 12, but am shooting for 150 lbs. and a size 8. I'm tired of not putting 100% into getting healthly so MFP has been exactly what I need. Also, my hubs and I are looking to start a family in the near future so I want to be the best me I can be before that.

My personal goal for August is to lose 8 pounds. I would also like to try to be consistent with exercising 4 to 5 times a week.

Let's do this thing!!!

Jitteryspork

Hello! I am Krystal, 25 and the step mom of 2 wonderful, amazing boys. 13 & 8. I have been married to my best friend for a little over 3 years now.. We met 2/6/08 and married 5/30/08...

When you know... you know...

I dont remember always being big.. In highschool I walked stairs ALL the time, and rode my bike to the park a lot (to meet up with my boyfriend)... but once I turned 16 and all my classes were down stairs and I **GOT A CAR** it started adding on. I was 170 when I graduated which I thought was HORRENDOUS! I have since learned that it was nothing compared to now.

I never learned to cook (long story) so my long term 3 yr boyfriend cooked. He was about 6'7" and weighed all of about 190lbs.. could eat whatever he wanted and never gain a lb. He was also italian so he loved pasta.. he would make it about any way you could imagine. Then I gained.. I got as big as 265 then we broke up and I gained another 15.

When I met my hubby I was 280 and he was about the same. He has just lost 100lbs from 380... and so I jumped on his band wagon and immediately lost 40lbs. (HE COOKS)...

So here I am at about 231-ish.. bouncing from 228-234 and just wanting to be in the 220's for more then 1 day...

We are currently fighting for custody of his boys and there is a lot of legal stress as well as financial burden on us, so these things tend to bring me down. I am hoping this will keep me afloat. I work 9-5 and then have football practice 6-8. I cook now and things are quite busy on my end.

I currently go to the gym at 5am if I make it.. and sometimes late at night if I need to.. I am working on the c25k.


I am here to help and to be helped! We can do this!

My goals:

End of August = 222.5
New Years 2012 = 200
26th Birthday = 170
Ultimate = 130ish


I have access to a gym so I am game for whatever challenges you can come up with.

faye_daisy

Hello everyone my name is Gladys middle name Faye! I am a sahm to four kids one boy and 3 girls. Boy is 11 and 1/2 girls are 9 1/2, 8 , and 2. I have lost 12 pounds since joining MFP. I started the insanity workout and just finished day 13. For the month of august I will shoot for 8 pounds I will have to come back with my current weight cause yelp I didn't weigh since monday.


Ok I am a blunt, full of spunk, and loving person. In Oct. we will be married 12 yrs and we are done having kids so it's time for me to whip my *kitten* in to shape :laugh:

juleseybaby

Hello everyone!! Thanks for what you have posted thus far!!

I am looking forward to seeing names and weight loss goals as well as ideas for challenges from our guy and the rest of the gals. (Gary1977 - are you ready for this - you are surrounded by women!!)

Can you believe this challenge??? OVER 500 PEOPLE!!! This is fan-friggin-tastic!!!

There are still 2 people that have yet to add me as a friend (Bounre and lanet7). I have sent at least one friend request - possibly 2 - lol! I am assuming that you have just been busy working and working out. :happy: That is the hope - because if I don't hear back from you by Sunday night - Gary6030 has a waiting list I believe - and I will ask him to swap out. Nothing personal - we are just going to get this started right with a FULL and DEDICATED roster!! :bigsmile:

I am still looking at ideas for the challenges and watching for something from Gary this weekend. Once I have everything set - I will post here. Be sure to check back here each day for any updates. I intend to start a new thread each week. Also - I will try to cheer everyone on - but if you haven't already - friend each other!!

I am going to TRY (key word there) to make a team graphic with all of our names so I can add it to my signature. If anyone else can try this - please feel free!

I will check back in later!

juleseybaby

Here we GO!!!!!

AUGUST CHALLENGE WEEK 1
This is the week one team challenge. This should be done in addition to your normal workout routine.
This is a challenge and is not a replacement! If you need a beginner workout please contact your team
captain for ideas.

Week One Daily Exercise Challenge
Each team member that completes their daily exercise challenge receives one point, if all team
members complete each daily exercise for all 6 days the team is then awarded an additional 5 Bonus
Points.
Day 1 Exercise Challenge - 100 Jumping Jacks*(see below)
Day 2 Exercise Challenge – Walk, Run or Jog 1 Mile (extra)
Day 3 Exercise Challenge – 50 Situps or Ab Crunches*
Day 4 Exercise Challenge – 40 UP and Downs *
Day 5 Exercise Challenge – 25 Pushups *
Day 6 Exercise Challenge – 25 Squat Lunges*
Day 7 Rest! You deserve it!

If you are uncertain on how to do an exercise get with your captains as they will have a weblink to each
exercise.

Week One Weekly Team Challenge

Each team member in order to get the weekly team bonus points must all log every day and not go over
their target calories and log at least 64 oz. of water each day. If each team member does this all 6 days
your team will be awarded 5 Bonus Points.

*Feel free to do these exercises in sets if you are unable to do them all at one time. Please do your best
as you are much stronger than you believe.

Please note each week the exercises will increase in difficulty. This will push each team member.
Modifications will be provided for those who unable to complete the exercise as intended

Gary1977

Hello ladies, I'm honored to be a member of this fantastic group. I'm sorry that I'm just getting around to responding to ya'll. I work 3rd shift and just now getting to work, lol. I look forward to meeting the goals set and losing as much weight as I possibly can.
With this being said, here's my introduction:

My name is Gary (obvious,lol) and I'm 33 years old. I've been overweight since about 5th grade & morbidly obese since high school. As I began to gain weight, I seemed to have lost a lot of "friends" at school. I isolated myself from most of the world and turned to food for my comfort. After high school, I spent the better part of a decade working as a manager in fast food. I continued to balloon up in weight. Suddenly at the age of 33, I found myself weighing 665lbs:sad: :blushing: and barely able to walk. I hit rock bottom in October of last year at my brothers wedding. I was really embarrased that I was unable to get a tuxedo even at a big & tall store. I was also unable to stand up with him as my knees would not allow it. I JUSTED WANTED TO DIE!

Finally in February of this year, with the help of my brother & sister-n-law, I did something about it. I started seeing a nutritionist and walking as much as I could. Even though my ticker only shows about 75lbs lost, I've really down about 135lbs. That's not counting the month of July as I haven't weighed since the 1st.(I am only weighing once a month, but I'll change to once a week). It feels so great to be getting my life back. I have more energy now than I've had in years. I promised God with his help, I'll get this done and I will live my life to the fullest.

P.S. There may be some workouts I'm not able to do, but I'll promise to do my very best. Good luck to all and I look forward to August being a great month for everyone.

faye_daisy

Gary Mad props to you! :flowerforyou:

faye_daisy

Here we GO!!!!!

AUGUST CHALLENGE WEEK 1
This is the week one team challenge. This should be done in addition to your normal workout routine.
This is a challenge and is not a replacement! If you need a beginner workout please contact your team
captain for ideas.

Week One Daily Exercise Challenge
Each team member that completes their daily exercise challenge receives one point, if all team
members complete each daily exercise for all 6 days the team is then awarded an additional 5 Bonus
Points.
Day 1 Exercise Challenge - 100 Jumping Jacks*(see below)
Day 2 Exercise Challenge – Walk, Run or Jog 1 Mile (extra)
Day 3 Exercise Challenge – 50 Situps or Ab Crunches*
Day 4 Exercise Challenge – 40 UP and Downs *
Day 5 Exercise Challenge – 25 Pushups *
Day 6 Exercise Challenge – 25 Squat Lunges*
Day 7 Rest! You deserve it!

If you are uncertain on how to do an exercise get with your captains as they will have a weblink to each
exercise.

Week One Weekly Team Challenge

Each team member in order to get the weekly team bonus points must all log every day and not go over
their target calories and log at least 64 oz. of water each day. If each team member does this all 6 days
your team will be awarded 5 Bonus Points.

*Feel free to do these exercises in sets if you are unable to do them all at one time. Please do your best
as you are much stronger than you believe.

Please note each week the exercises will increase in difficulty. This will push each team member.
Modifications will be provided for those who unable to complete the exercise as intended

jumping jacks kill my boobs the one part i hate about insanity but I am game

nrtenagrl

Hi My name is Elizabeth. I'm a SAHM with two kids.. 3, and 4. I have been married for almost 6 years this September 4th. I remember in 6th grade.. during a physical at school.. I weighed in at 175. Till this day, that has tormented me. I never thought myself as being overweight until then. All through out my school years I was the big girl,. During Jr High, I was taunted by these two brothers.. everytime I would go to my class they would intentionally wait for me outside (or that was how it seemed) and call me names. It hurt me lots. Once I graduated high school I got it in me to loose weight, join a gym. It worked. Then I got married. OMG downhill again! I would lose the weight, then gain it.. the last time I tried I was on ATkins.. everything was going fine and boom! I got pregnant. Here I am,.at my highest ever, 179. I posted before... my turning point was my three year old Victoria calling me " a fat mommy.." I have been going to the gym for the past two weeks for 5 days each week.

My goal for August would be to lose 5lbs! ( I would treat myself to a haircut)

I have been doing cardio for 20-30 min and strength training for 30 min
I would like to get to an hour of cardio and 30 strength training.

No suggestions on challenges ... sorry..
I promise do my best and meet all goals!!

Agate69

Gary, you have my support and admiration for getting off the chair and moving any way you can. As you can see by my ticker I am down over a hundred pounds and what a difference those hundred pounds have made in my ability to move. Stick with your nutritionist and keep it going. In your honor, I promise to do try to do every challenge that is thrown my way.