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

meagalayne

Quick post before work - I am a major grouch today, so it won't be long :grumble:

My foot is giving me a lot of problems and I am struggling to walk on it. Last night I had to get to bed around 930 just to get off it and I have decided to cease all running until Sunday for fear of worsening it before my race... It's a BIG hit to my mental and emotional state, especially with what happened last time around and with my 1/2 Marathon being so close. Running is my "'escape" and my way to re-charge and feel good about my days. Without it, I definitely need to find an alternative and QUICK so that I don't spiral into a major funk :ohwell:

Food is always hard and even worse when I'm not exercising. I think I may just stop logging so a while so that I don't obsess. Seeing the 1600 calories every day without any exercise cals to eat is nerve wrecking - I am SO used to eating a lot and it's hard to ajust. And then to add guilt for over-eating to all the other crap I am feeling. No thanks!

Anywho - Sorry for the selfishness.

ENJOY your yoga greenhumanclay - I absolutely love power yoga and really wish I made more time for it! Let us know how you do :happy:

mkingraham

Morning Ladies!!

Beth- Congratulations on the new attitude! i love it! I think I had a similar thing a couple of months ago. When we reach that point in our journey I think it really helps because we see everything in a whole new light! I think you are doing fantastic.

Cynthia- You are a good sell for yoga- hahaha. I will definitely have to try it because I can really tell that my legs are getting tired and need a good stretching out. And living social or groupon is a great place to look- thanks for the tip!

Meag- Hang in there and keep resting that foot so that you can still run your 10 miles this weekend and you 1/2. As far as food, you know you make great choices 80-85% of the time and you should be happy with that. I think that taking a break from logging would be a good idea for you.

AFM- Yeah Cynthia this means As For me, which took me a little while to figure out as well , I ran my 2 miles this morning, which it ended up being 2.24 at a 11:50 pace which I felt good about, I followed this up with weight lifting. I can definitely feel that I am getting stronger which is amazing! I keep track on a piece of paper the weight that I lift for each exercise each time I lift and I can already feel the need to increase my weight and see where my weight increases have been! Its super exciting to be getting stronger. Now for a NSV, last week I ordered a bunch of clothes online from Old Navy and I was nervous because I didn't know what size I should buy. Well everything fit and the belts I bought were actually too big! Best ever! I use to never buy belts because I was embarrassed about being able to find one that actually fit, now I need to buy smaller ones! And I am wearing one of my new dresses from said online shopping adventure and everyone keeps saying how much they like it and how good I look Yeah!!!

On a non-weight loss related issue, I live about 90 miles away from the epicenter of the virginia earthquake yesterday and boy was that the weirdest feeling ever! My cube started to shake and I thought the boys on my team were messing around so I was getting up to tell them to stop then the shaking stopped, then it came back full force and I could see the conference room windows billowing. It was over in about 30 seconds, but it was scary and my hands were shakey due to the adrenaline pumping. No structural damage at my work or home and no one is hurt, but that was my first earthquake and I wouldn't mind it being my last just because it was so weird. craziness!

Any ways I hope you ladies have an amazing day!!

Megan

KanCrav

I am having one of the worst days EVER.. and I thought coming on here and killing time would be a good way to ignore the world.... but just reading a few of your stories and comments has inspired me to get up, stop feeling sorry for myself and go to the gym! I guess thats what this group stuff is really about!.. thank you to every single one of you!! Im glad you're hear, it keeps me coming back! You all Kick *kitten*!!!

GuamGrly

Happy Hump Day Lovelies!!

Cynthia – glad that you are branching out and experimenting with the different types of yoga. My gym offers a Hot Yoga class but getting there is another story. And then I don’t really want to pay for the kids to go to the kid’s club there. Right now, I am just focusing on getting back into my groove and not letting distractions get in my way of my end results. Sounds like you are staying on track….keep it up girly!!

Meag – so sorry to hear that your foot is giving your problems again. I know what a number it did on you the last time around. Hopefully with some good rest, you will be able to hit your race with full force on Sunday. I think not logging would probably be a great idea for you right now. You know what choices to make when it comes to food so your focus should be on healing the foot and not worrying about the numbers that greet you when you sign onto MFP. Hope it gets better girly!!

Megan – thank you!! You are such a great cheerleader!! And congrats on your amazing victories with your clothes!! A smaller size in anything is worth it!! Glad you braved the earthquake ok. I live in Cali so I am fairly used to them. I would prefer to have small ones on a regular basis rather than letting them build for “the big one.” Luckily, they don’t freak me out. It is quite crazy that you guys are experiencing them though.

Kandace – love the attitude!! Glad that you decided to dust yourself off and get moving!! I think that was the revelation that I came to this week…I can’t expect anyone to love me if I don’t love myself. So I will work on me and I am sure that everything else will work out in the meantime. Great job girly!!

AFM…did W3 of C25K last night. Note to self…NEVER skip weeks again!! But I know that I needed to start there in order to finish in time for my race. It wasn’t as bad as I expected but I think I would have been a little more prepared if I had done weeks 1 and 2 properly. My daughter didn’t want to run with me last night so I left her home with my roommate and when I returned, she had the Angels game on…that’s my girl! She made me proud…haha!! I have decided to put Insanity on the backburner for now so that I can focus on getting my 5K training in. I don’t think I could juggle training, Insanity, full-time job, the commute, and the kids all at the same time. However, I plan on picking it up as soon as I finish my race. Debating on what type of exercise to squeeze in tonight. I am thinking Turbo Jam though. Food has been great the last couple of days…well except for the piece of ice cream cake from yesterday but I logged it and still was under for the day. Chicken and salsa is cooking in the crock pot now for dinner. Gonna grab some black beans, corn, and lettuce at lunch so that we can have burritos for dinner. My daughter got mad at me Monday night cause I was making her dinner and wouldn’t let her get McDonald’s with our roommates. Luckily she only pouted for a few minutes and then didn’t complain when she ate dinner. Hopefully she will learn to appreciate a healthy home-cooked meal sooner rather than later.

Well Lovelies, I hope today turns out to be awesome for each and every one of you.

Quote of the day – “Every day may not be good, but there's something good in every day.” ~Author Unknown

mkingraham

Kandace- So proud of you for going out and doing something! I completely agree that this thread is motivational, it definitaley makes me get up and do my workouts each day knowing all of you lovely ladies are out there doing them too. Even though we all live in different places and are in different parts of our journey it is nice to know that we have each other! Keep it up!

Bethany- I don't know that its me being a great cheerleader or you just being awesome! I bet being out in Cali you get used to the earthquakes. Apparently we had a 4.5 after shock in the middle of the night but it didn't wake me up so thats good. Good job on skippng ahead in C25K. I know its hard but like you said if you stick with it you will be ready for your 5k. I think that like Meag has said in various other posts, the point is to get out there and do the distance. It doesn't matter if when you get to actual race day everything doesn't go perfect because you are out there and you are doing it. I am starting to remind myself of that so I don't get all bent out of shape when a run doesn't go how I planned.

AFM- Bootcamp this morning and it was some sport style cardio followed by an intense ab session and a repeat of the cardio set. Nice 500 cal burn. There is a woman in the class that has a far way to go in her fitness and ability to complete all the exercises properly so she tends to be slower and a lot of people don't always want to pair up with her, but I did because I thought she isn't quitting and I will take someone who doesn't give up over anyone who can already run really fast. Needless to say I did double sprints because I ran her sprints with her. Even though her sprint is like my jog she pushed herself and tried really hard and I know how it feels being the last one and having to just keep going alone so I thought I won't make her do it alone. And she was really proud of herself after. I think it was a good reminder that we are all in different points in our journey to being healthy individuals and helping lift others up and allowing them to see what they can achieve is part of that. So keep up the excellent work ladies! I am running your "sprinits" with you as well

Megan

cmg2008

Sorry i haven't been on here much ladies, I started grad school this week and I've been busy busy busy!! Good thing though is that I have found time to get my runs in between classes, homework, studying, working, and sleeping!

I did my first treadmill run today, and it wasn't too bad, I know how they say treadmill runs are suppose to be "easier" but i found it harder because i was constantly at the same pace, not speeding up or slowing down like I do when i run outside! I was a little scared of the treadmill, silly i know, but now I know that once winter hits I can use the treadmill without feeling silly.

Keep up the great work ladies!

meagalayne

Hey ladies...

Long day at work - Just got home and stuffed my face with "dinner" - composed of grapes, plain yogurt, a little all bran cereal, cinnamon and topped with peanuts and coconut. So lame but all I ate today was breakfast, veggies and meat. I needed some variety! And it was easy :blushing: Ultimately that was the kicker!

CMG - TM runs are *so* much harder, IMO. I don't buy that crap for one second about them being easy. I run way slower on the TM than outdoors and I can never run as far without breaks (or wanting to slit my wrists...) I think it's probably all mental, but the dead air in the gym doesn't help. I find it so hard to just zone out and enjoy the run. I spend the entire time wanting my run to be over, versus runs outside which I typically never want to end! The TM serves it's function in the really bad weather, but I suggest gearing up and learning to be OK running in the cold/rain/snow/sleet. I did 75% of my runs outdoors this winter to avoid the TM and I still preferred it, inclimate weather and all! I thought I would hate it because of my Raynaud's but it was still so much better than running on the dreadmill. You'd be surprised!

Beth - You ROCK. Honestly. I love your posts and your attitude. Thank you for all your words of support and encouragement. Your kick-*kitten*-ness always makes me feel oodles better and makes me want to stay the course and kick some *kitten* myself :bigsmile:

Megan - SAME! You two are money

So true about running though, or any exercise. The hardest and most important part is getting out there. Whether it's your best run or your worst run ever, feel good about doing it. You ran way more miles than the majority who sat on their rump all day. And you know what you're capable of. You can't be awesome every day so just take each run for what it is and be thankfully you get to run at all. If injury has taught me anything, it's that I need to relish in my training when I get it. I live for training and race day is just the icing on the cake. If it weren't for all those grueling and sometimes awful training runs, I would never be able to enjoy all my weekly milestones, longest-runs-to-date and all the fabulous endorphins that keep me going throughout the work week. Our successes would mean nothing if it wasn't for all our failures

AFM - Today was a very stressful day at work. We had an out-of-office thing-y all afternoon. The "bus" left at 1pm, which meant everything had to be done and there was no staying late. That's *impossible* at my work. I stay late EVERY day. Things just never get done on time. So leaving a ton of work at my desk for tomorrow was daunting and it made the whole morning dreadful. Thankfully the afternoon was OK and I was actually able to get to know some of my co-workers. My boss has suggested that I might be well served going down to Las Vegas for a conference in Sept to meet and shmooze with some of our biggest customers. This is a HUGE deal but nothing has been finalized yet. I will definitely have to see, but it just so happens to be the week before my half marathon... What a mess!

This job is going to freaking kill me :noway: The good news is that tomorrow Tyler is off and taking me for lunch - whether they like it or not - and Tuesday I am finally taking my lieu time in the afternoon and Im going to get mani-pedis with my mom! If my foot's at all better, perhaps I will head out to the outlets and try to find a few new work clothes for the fall so that I have something to wear in the event that I'm shipped out to Vegas last minute. I haven't bought any new clothes for work since I started and I'm definitely due. It's hard to believe it's been 3 months already. Time has just FLOWN by!

OK Better run. You ladies rock my socks. Thanks for tuning into my selfishness again!

OH! BTW - I'm not logging food until after my 1/2 - It's been decided. Way too much pressure on myself to stay within my cals. I keep gaining and it's just not worth it. I'm going to eat when I'm hungry, make good choices, and deal with the consequences. No. More. Logging. That's my goal for the rest of August :bigsmile:

greenhumanclay

Hey Ladies,

Not sure whats wrong with MFP but t was down yesterday for maintenance and right not it erased everything, so I'm pretty frustrated but in a nut shell good job ladies I can't believe August is almost over less than a week.
Meg I also live in California and Guamgrly is right u get used to them but I think they are still freaky they leave me feeling like okay whens the real big one coming but it's strange you guys had one, hope that was the end of the plates shifting and it relieved your neck of the woods for a long time and btw that's great of you topair up with the lady in your class and making her feel Im sure comfortable, good karma points your way And thanks I guess Im a good seller lol jk but if your curious check it out!
Guamgrly Yes definitely trying to branch out and try different things and types of Yoga, hows your Insanity coming along?

AFM I had a crappy day to be honest i split my coffee on my BRAND NEW BLOUSE as I got to work which happened to be a beige shirt so I stayed with my stained shirt luckily I just work with kids who don't judge me lol But before that I woke up in a grouchy mood my cat was getting on my nerves as strange as that might sound, but I'm finally home and feel better, I have been good with my exercise regimen and okay with h20 intake and bad in my sleeping patterns except for 2 days I did sleep between 6-7 hrs each night more or less. Thankfully MFP is working again for some reason I couldn't log on from my computer or phone.

CMG2008 Congrats on going back to school and managing homework classes life itself and working and jogging in between and it's not strange that the treadmill feel skid dish I felt that way too, but you'll see how quickly you get used to it.

Meag Hope your foot gets better sooner than later and glad to know your day d=seems to have gotten better and you are staying positive even though your dealing with a lot WTG :bigsmile:

Hope all of you have a great night and Friday!!

greenhumanclay

I just re-read my most, excuse all my typos. :happy:

greenhumanclay

My post you ladies get it!

greenhumanclay

Hey Ladies,

So I took the day off from working out only my 3rd day this month, my body needs to recover from yoga it's making me sore from all these muscles I've never used lol. I did have Chinese food for lunch since the co-workers and I decided earlier in the week to go out, only thing that sucks is tracking the calories, I guess it's a guesstimate since the restaurant has no nutrition menu (family owned). But whatever is was it was delicious, my friend had ordered these small fried puffs, I think it was stuffed with crab meat and cream cheese omg never had them or heard of them and I know they're dangerous but I only had two they are pretty small. Other than that I've lost about 3.5 to 4 lbs this month and it's still not over hoping to hit 5 lbs like last months challenge. Hope you all have had a great Friday and enjoy your weekend, I will try and log on this weekend but if not I'll check back in Monday!!

MandaLee8908

I am still alive...more later...just wanted to pop back into reality for a minute :-)

jillybeanruns

Hi all, I know I said I'd be back...but I'm taking a bit of an MFP break. I'm here, but not here. Just lots going on. Unfortunately I've run myself into the ground and been told by a GP that I'm overtraining. It's either step back from marathon training or find a way to sleep. Overtraining is a steep, tricky slope so I'm trying to get myself out of it (while still running) before it's too late. In my case, it's a psychological minefield filled with anxiety attacks, even less sleep than usual (which is minimal) and being irritable/agitated/etc...and I've haven't looked forward to a run in weeks, it's a "chore", which is not how I have ever viewed running. MFP only makes it worse, so I'm stepping back from all the MFP social stuff and just logging food/exercise.

But yeah, just wanted to explain my absence. Take care everyone:flowerforyou:

mkingraham

Hey Ladies!

We survived Hurricane Irene over here, it ended up not being too bad just a lot of rain and some slight wind. Needless to say I had to change my saturday run to sunday. It wasn't too bad hot and humid because of all the rain and such. I was suppose to do 4 miles but ended up .2 miles short, but thats alright. I still felt good. Anyways, I just wanted to drop in. 3 more days of August!!!

mkingraham

Good Morning!

Well looks like its going to be a slow end to August on here. This morning I had 2 miles on the schedule and I went 2.22, makes up for the little bit I was short yesterday. This week is a slow down week for the training. We do 2 miles all 3 times this week, then next week is 3 miles each time, and then its back to increasing the mileage. Right now I am feeling pretty strong and I like I can get myself to go a little bit further which is good since I have to do 9.3 miles. Also one of my girlfriends is thinking about running the 15k with me and my coworker and boss whom are already signed up. Its looking like it will be a very fun race and of course lots of chocolate at the end! The best part of it all!! I hope everyone had a good weekend and did ok with the weather for all of you who live on the east coast. I'll be around today so chat it up!!

Megan

meagalayne

Happy Monday my fabulous friends! :bigsmile: Can you believe it's nearly SEPTEMBER!?!? Holy cow... this month has FLOWN by!

Well this weekend was the same as always. Tried desperately not to feel guilty about food but unlike most weekends I didn't run or train at *all*. Not burning meant trying extra hard to eat well and to maintain my calories. Tough work when weekends usually consist of traveling with Tyler, and this one was no different. I did my best but I am starting to feel a *touch* of resentment when I am constantly surrounded by awful choices. It's very hard to know that my parents and Tyler are aware of how much I am struggling with food and the fear of weight gain and yet still insist on eating total junk and going to restaurants that offer very few food options. I try to accommodate, but twice this weekend it ended up leaving me just plain hungry with very little to eat. There are more than a few instances where I have just sat and watched others eat without feeling confident that anything available was healthy or worth my calories. It's not easy.

Tonight I think I'm going to give Aquafit a try. I know it won't be as good a burn as my usual workouts but I am hoping that it will take the edge off my frustration and allow me to at least feel a little stress relief. I am desperate for a workout so hopefully it should help. If it's really bad, I may just hang around and do 20 mins of laps or so after the class. We shall see. Playing it by ear! Swimming's not my fave but it will have to do for now...

I'm glad to hear that you all survived the hurricane (at least from those who have posted). My heart really goes out to those who have suffered damage/loss, personal strife/grief, and general anxiety from the storm. I cannot even imagine that sort of thing here. It's so devastating and I imagine the fear of what might be to come would be extremely difficult to handle. I have certainly been keeping you all in my thoughts

Greenhumanclay - Yoga is surprisingly tough and if you aren't used to it, your body can really get sore and quick! When I first started doing it to help stretch out from all my running I was very surprised at how long it too for my muscles to loosen up in the days following a practice. It definitely takes time to get used to. All those sun salutations, high planks, and chuttarungas (sp?) do a number on your arms and shoulders! Just be careful with it - I found that too much yoga was putting a lot of strain on my shoulders and causing me a lot of discomfort after a few months. Make sure you are keeping on top of your pain and that it's all good, healthy workout sore and not veering toward injury sore :happy: Oh - And enjoy!

Alright, it's that time again. Work! But it's a short week and tomorrow I have the afternoon OFF :drinker: Wohoot! Just have to make it through today. Here's hoping things aren't too crazy at the office. Enjoy your Monday's everyone. Much love

MandaLee8908

So, in the madness that has been my summer, I made horrible choices for my body. The stress sky-rocketed. Michelle. another friend miscarried. And I tend to carry the burdens of my loved ones as if they were my own....not a good combo. I ate horribly the past few weeks. I haven't exercised (both lack of motivation and lack of adequate time). I am now UP to 178.6lbs from about 173.4lbs...wow.

It's time to get back to the basics. What junk food I have in my pantry is all that will be left...I won't be buying any more junk food for me. I'm going to start small with the exercise as I just got out of therapy a few weeks ago.

I'm also stopping hormonal birth control. My moods have been funky, my sex drive has sucked, and my husband doesn't like either of these issues. :-P Plus, I seem to have more energy without the pill. We're using other non-hormonal methods that won't affect my moods or weight.

So here goes nothing...

Weigh-in 178.6

Goals
1) drink 80oz of water each day
2) exercise intentionally 30 minutes this week
3) smile as much as possible

greenhumanclay

Hey Ladies,

Meag You are so right Yoga is definitely more difficult than imagined, I also had started it to loosen up my muscles from jogging and I was sore for several days, I tried the Hot yoga challenging but zoo worth it and the Vinyasa especially the poses yo mentioned are difficult and I felt sore a couple days later around my net and shoulder area so I'm for sure join got take it easy and go 3xs/week rather than 5 since Im a rookie

AFM So this weekend was great, very chill but with a ton of heavy food like BBQ and Chinese and my tummy did not agree with it. Other than that we have a few days left in this month will there be another challenge?

CCSunlight

Ugh trying to fight the food craving. Still looking for a job and spending most of my days compulsively checking careerbuilder and my email for any news about jobs. Downside: major stress-eating cravings. Upside: for the most part, I'm too broke to buy anything but the essentials. And to get to the grocery store I have to hop on my bike. I can see why everyone's going back to grad school.

meagalayne

greenhumanclay - practicing yoga and really making the most of it is a big challenge - going through the motions and finishing the class is really something entirely different. I know that as soon as I started really focusing on my breathing, focusing in squeezing my joints together and stretching/lengthening/strengthening I was shaking and sweating throughout the entire class! It's all what you make of it, IMO. I usually leave yoga feeling sore and very accomplished. And I usually have at least one moment during the class where I want to just quit. It can really be that challenging. Just have to test your limits!

Tried some aquafit tonight... Boy did that *suck*. If anyone here does it regularly - KUDOS! I absolutely hating it.

Ok end rant and negativity. But I miss my runs. I miss zoning out and just hauling *kitten*. Running hard, sweating profusely, and feeling freaking bada$$ when I'm done. Did not get that today. I was actually just cold and uncomfortable the entire time.

Tomorrow I've got only a half day at work - which is SWEET. Work's been a major stress lately and tomorrow's half day will be a delight :bigsmile: Going to have a healthy lunch, mani/pedi and then retail therapy with my mom. Can't wait!

Heading out camping on Friday after work for the weekend and I really think I need it. Not logging food to de-stress and unclutter but I think I need to remove myself from the mirror as well and focus on feeling good about where I am at in my life right now. I definitely feel like I'm gaining fat and getting bloated/puffy looking, esp around my waist. I am thoroughly unhappy with my progress right now and so getting out of the city and away from life will be such a nice break. I hope that we can be active and eat well and I can just enjoy our time outdoors. Isn't it impossible to be unhappy whilst camping?

Here's just hoping the weather is good! *Fingers crossed* Have a great night everyone!

ps. Sorry for how disjointed and absurd this post is. I'm exhausted and rushing to get to bed. I need to get into bed before I devour any more food :ohwell: