Lose 10 lbs in September Challenge

ADTeachTX

MINI-CHALLENGE FOR WEEK 1:

In my opinion, there are three VERY important parts to successfully losing weight and keeping it off:

1. Nutrition (NOT diet - it must be a lifestyle CHANGE!)
2. Exercise
3. Psychological

This week's mini-challenge will involve all three aspects:

1. Drink AT LEAST 8 glasses of water EVERY DAY - our bodies are primarily water and WILL NOT FUNCTION without the proper amounts. 64oz is an absolute minimum daily intake just for your body to function - so how do you expect to lose weight if your body is dehydrated?? :drinker:

2. Try a new exercise that you don't normally do or haven't done in a really long time. For women this might be weight training - a lot of times we have AWESOME cardiovascular systems but no muscle whatsoever, but our muscle is the fat-burners in our bodies. Also, sometimes our bodies simply get used to what we are doing and thus the dreaded plateau. Try to confuse your body this week and report back with what you did and how you liked it.

3. Think about (and share if you feel comfortable) what got you to where you are today. Why did you let yourself go? What was your awakening moment when you knew something had to change? What situations trigger you to not make healthy decisions and how can you control those situations? Life happens, and sometimes we need to focus on what happens in life and how we react to those situations and be ready to deal with them when they arise.

I welcome ALL of you to the September challenge and look forward to seeing some AWESOME losses! MFP love!!

1. I usually hit my water but I will make sure that I do that this week!
2. Exercise is still something hard for me but I will try to work it in this week/month
3. I have been overweight most of my life. I went on my first serious diet when I was 8 years old. I already weighed over 130 pounds. Over the years things have crept back up. I was born with a medical condition that necessitates that I take steriods for the rest of my life. No doctor ever informed my mother what it would do to my appetite and so the weight balloned up. Along the way I learned some really bad habits. I did lose weight on that first attempt when I was 8 and I have been yo-yoing since then. I hit my heaviest weight last February at 321lbs. That wa a wake up call for me. I tried another site and lost 25 pounds but then fell off the wagon again. Then my hubby found this site and suggested that we join together. I have been here about a month now and have lost 18 pounds in August. I am now down almost 40 pounds weighing in at 282. That is a lot of motivation. In addition, the support I get from all the MFP peoples has been what keeps me coming back. Last month's challenge really kept me going as I am sort of competitive and want to win. I wish all of us the best of luck and here we go!

tnmarie

Today was a SUCCESS for me.

*8 glasses of water today...about as likely as seeing Big Foot. I never get enough water.

*ZUMBA class # 4 today. Something new and I love it!

*Stayed within my calorie goal with 37 calories to spare. Made a nice dinner for my husband and son and had a light yogurt for dessert. No late night snacking, going to bed right now!

small victories will add up to big ones

voldemortharrypotter

I'm in!!!
I'd love to lose about 10 pounds (or 5kg) in month.
My weight is 123pounds (or 55kg ) at the moment, but considering my height thats quite a bit to be carrying around. I want to make it to 50 kg (111-113 pounds) asap as long as its healthily....

Would love to join!!!

allycaturban

hi I can't seem to see the google link for the spreadsheet. Can you repost/resend it to me
Thanks

LakerFan03

I'm in !

allycaturban

oh ya and...
1) I drink lots of water. Sometimes when I get sick of the water I have some perrier with a lime, water with a lime, or a coconut water (although has natural sugars in it) to give myself a break. Also, ice and a fancy glass goes a long way for me. It seems if it looks appealing I am more likely to drink it

2) I am doing an outdoor bootcamp (starting tomorrow).

3) my weight snuck up on me. I was too busy to exercise and finding myself making bad food choices. When I got pregnant I went up to 217lb. It was quite easy to get back to my prepregancy weight of 163. However, I know that is too heavy for me. Also, since the baby I find that I am carrying more weight around my mid section. I really want to improve this

allycaturban

great day. I have a hard time with the late night snacking WT G

bwesser

Wow, all of these stories definitely made me sit back and really dig deep into why I have gained weight...

1. Drink AT LEAST 8 glasses of water EVERY DAY - I can definitely do this. I've been drinking alkaline water using the Kegan system. My boyfriend's mom is a huge advocate. It does a good job of balancing out the acidic things we eat and drink every day.

2. I am a huge Ultimate Frisbee fan, and let me tell you... getting back into it is hard. I played for two hours yesterday, and I am definitely sore right now. I feel great!

3. Why did you let yourself go? Mostly the stress of being in college, working as an RA for the past two years as well as having an off-campus job to pay bills... I lost all ambition to work out, I was just tired all the time. I was comfortable eating as much as my boyfriend for the past three years... then I realized, he needs the cals, I don't.
Also, my parents moved to another country about two years ago... I have a baby brother two is 2 and a half... so I don't get to see him very often.... I got depressed, and started eating a lot. Mostly sweets, because that's what I crave.

What was your awakening moment when you knew something had to change? My boyfriend's mother called me chubby, and told me that she wanted me to be healthy. (Rude, I know...) Also, I can feel the weight when I run. I don't like being out of breath when I take the stairs... and when I do eat healthy, I have so much more energy. Also, I am not working for the school anymore so I have more time to play frisbee with my friends and go to the gym.

What situations trigger you to not make healthy decisions and how can you control those situations? When I miss my boyfriend (he lives an hour away and doesn't have a car... so either I have to go to him or pick him up which is hard... time and money are an issue for me)... when I'm bored, I tend to want to have a snack. Mostly when I am lonely, I make the worst decisions.

wutamunkee

1-- I am working on that currently but I am aiming at having 16oz during/before my next meal everyday-- I eat 6 so I thats almost 100 oz...

2. I just started the 30 day shred yesterday so, even though I am 1 day earlier, I will cheat and count that because its my new focus.

3. Life got me here and life is going to get me out... I got thin before and I am headed back!

sherid94

1. I do pretty good with the water. Does Tea count or other things? My husband counts his other liquids as long as they are non-carbonated.

2. New exercise: I'm determined to dust off the bike this week and add a several mile ride to my evenings. I hope to convince my husband to join me but will with or without him.

3. What got me here? What didn't?!? Three kids, three miscarriages, boredom eating, pizza, nachos...Eating out is a serious problem for us...we do it way to much. Eating at home always saves calories and money too. I'm doing this for a number of reasons...I want to like who I see in the mirror and feel proud of myself. I also have three kids who I don't want struggling with their weight as adults. They are all three very thin and healthy but, then, so was I at that age. So, my goal is to hit a normal BMI for my height and stick with that.

scooterboy2003

32 miles, hilly terrain, 13.4 average mph on my bicycle. I KNOW I can finish a 30 mile race next month now!
:glasses:

What bike race are you doing? My husband and I are looking at doing the Route 66 Mother Road Bike Tour - I think he's wanting to do 30 miles, but I'll probably only do 12...

Local festival in East Texas in October. I am doing a 30 mile race. The first one I ever will ride in, but I am training hard. Thanks

kciboo

1. Drinking water this week should not be a problem! I get my 6-8 cups or more a day, thankfully.
2. I will be re-starting the Jilian Michaels 30 Day Shred DVD and will try to actually do 2 strength training work outs at the gym this week.
3. What got me from 135 lbs to 190 lbs? Losing hope, eating for comfort and out of boredom every night, and having an all-or-nothing mentality. Trying to remind myself everyday now that it's ok if I eat 1250 calories even if my goal was 1200...and that I should not binge by eating another 3000 calories that night just because I did not hit a perfect "1200". This is knowing full well that calories are estimates when we track...it's such a bad mentality to have. So now I am trying to let myself know it's OK as long as I stick to a range (right now my range I would like to be in each day is 1200-1500 calories).

Thanks everyone for the motivation!

carolinagirl7

I am so amazed to read everyone's stories. It is only fair I share mine, though I warn you all, it is pretty ordinary.

1. I drink water and only water every day (and yes, for those of you struggling with H2O intake, it only took me about 2 years to be able to confidently make this statement). I flavor mine with lemon and mint. I drink a minimum of 64 oz daily.

2. I need to recommit to weight training, I think I will start with 1x week. I have also started playing softball over the past few weeks. Talk about exercise...it works muscles I didn't know I have

3. I am never one who cared about what I ate, my looks or my weight, as long as I felt good. I was started on meds for high blood pressure, and dx with borderline high cholesterol. This was the first real sign (or slap in the face), I was headed down the path of my parents/grandparents with living with, and dying from complications of diabetes/high blood pressure, if I did not take control now. It was hard to get going, because despite the meds I still felt good. I really recommitted about 2 months ago after attending a class reunion. 4 members have lost a combined weight of over 200 pounds (and I met up with a 5th individual who has lost 150 pounds). I have come to realize, if I think I feel good now...just how great will I feel when I am no longer considered "obese"
Not to mention the added motivation looking at myself in pictures with my "newly thin" friends. This is the first time EVER I haven't liked how I look (though I still have no problem with how I look on a daily basis in the mirror)

This past month I finally discovered, admit to and am tackling my addiction. SUGAR! (not the natural stuff like fresh fruits) When I eat clean, I DO NOT crave food. I NEVER remember NOT craving food (usually chocolate). To be able to look at a bowl of chocolates in the middle of the table, and not even be tempted, it is so empowering. But it is something I tackle on a daily basis. Sugars are hidden in everything...I have days where I think I have done good, then that craving starts to return... The trick is not feed the craving with sugar, because, for me, it just leads to a slippery slope. I turn to a couple tablespoons of natural peanut butter, a diversion, and remember my inspiration... my classmates and all of you here on MFP. You are all amazingly strong individuals and I am honored to be sharing my journey with all of you :flowerforyou:

sheBB

Hi everyone!
1. Water- may be a problem for me, I find it difficult to get 8 to 10 cups a day. But, I will do my best.

2. "New exercise"- I started to use the elliptical so my new exercise will be the elliptical.

3. Think about (and share if you feel comfortable) what got you to where you are today. Why did you let yourself go? What was your awakening moment when you knew something had to change? What situations trigger you to not make healthy decisions and how can you control those situations? Life happens, and sometimes we need to focus on what happens in life and how we react to those situations and be ready to deal with them when they arise.

The main reason I'm fat is work. I work with computers, sit all day. When I came home in the evenings, cooked supper, cleaned & had no time for me or working out, well actually there could have been time 1/2 hour would have been a start but, after working all day I had no energy left to do a workout. Now that I am older there are health problems, so if I want to live with as little pain as possible I have to find time & energy to work out & be healthy. With the passing of so many family members I ate & then right back to where I started. I don't handle stress very well. I'm learning & so far so good.

Good luck in September everyone!

Athena413

hi I can't seem to see the google link for the spreadsheet. Can you repost/resend it to me
Thanks

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0ApGWjN0Yz2hfdFhpSVlFYWNsdjR4N3lUNVNjTnhlVlE&hl=en_US

Are you trying to view it from a phone? I haven't had a lot of people have success with that. You normally have to view it from a PC, but you should be able to just copy and paste that link into your browser.

KimberlyBryant

This week's mini-challenge will involve all three aspects:

1. Drink AT LEAST 8 glasses of water EVERY DAY - oooooh this one is SOO hard for me! but i will do my best to try to get in my 8(8oz) a day..

2. Try a new exercise that you don't normally do :
I am starting the 30 day shred! that is going to kill me!

3. Think about (and share if you feel comfortable) what got you to where you are today.

How did i get how i am today...well first i would like to tell you a little bit about myself. My name is Kimberly and I will be 26 this month. I have been married to my amazing husband Jason for almost 6 years now. Ever since we have been married we wanted to have children. We both come from huge families. Each of our families have 7 immediate children ( not including step and half) in it and we would like to have a big family as well.. ( maybe not THAT big though) . Between the time we got married in Dec 05 and April 08 we had 4+ miscarriages and each one caused me to go into a depression which caused my weight to go up higher and higher. I never was a thin girl and in high school was 222 when i got married i was 240. After each miscarriage i would put on 15 to 20 lbs until i reached 308lbs. I went to the doctors wondering why i was having so many miscarriages they told me i would never be able to carry to term at my current weight and at that point i knew i needed to do something. I decided that the gym and eating right was the way to go. and that i should give it ANOTHER shot . After watching what i ate ( i didnt use any kind of tracking) and going to the gym 3hrs a trip 3x a week for 4 months i was able to drop 20 lbs. some things happened in my life and within 1 month gained 10 of those pounds back. Then i started to realize i needed to do something more dramatic.. and that is when my husband and i decided that i should look into the gastric bypass surgery. Now I am not ashamed of this fact for it has gotten me healthy enough to have my babies. I had my surgery done Jan 7th of 2009 and Lost 70 pounds and found out on Easter morning of 2009 that I was pregnant. Found out 3 weeks later that I was pregnant with twins! How exciting!!! The next 8 weeks was great until we went for our 13 week ultrasound and found out we lost one of the twins. I had such a strong faith in gods timing and knew that the little baby was just giving its twin a chance at a good pregnancy and to be healthy. We had our little miracle baby on 28th of December 2009. I Gave birth to a beautiful 7lb 3 oz baby girl a week over due. My weight went back up to 220 at time of birth. Within 6 months I got my weight back down to 198 until we found out in July 2010 that our angel baby was on its way. The next 9 months I gained 32 pounds and gave birth to my beautiful son a week early on March 12 2011. He weight 8lbs 6oz. Since then I have been running after a toddler and taking care of an infant and have only managed to lose 15 pounds. Until I joined MFP I had no idea how much I was actually eating. Now I am holding myself accountable for every morsel that goes into my mouth and I am not depriving myself of anything. Including my love of French fries. I just work it into my daily calories

mom2BandD

My starting weight for the month was 176 lbs...and I my current weight is 174.2 lbs. So basically I am down 1.8 lbs, so only 8.2 lbs more to lose this month. If I get anywhere close to hitting 10 lbs lost I will be super duper happy.

This week's mini-challenge will involve all three aspects:

1. Drink AT LEAST 8 glasses of water EVERY DAY - our bodies are primarily water and WILL NOT FUNCTION without the proper amounts. 64oz is an absolute minimum daily intake just for your body to function - so how do you expect to lose weight if your body is dehydrated??

I drink 8-10 glasses of water daily already so I will continue on.

2. I am doing a Shakeology challenge and have started using the 30 and 50 minute workouts that come with the shake mix. Before that I was running 2-3 times a week. I will still try and get out for few runs a week since I am training for a 5K on Sept. 18. I may throw in some cycling to shake things up a bit.

3. The weight I gained was mainly from my pregnancies I have had over the last 5 yrs (2 to be exact). After my first pregnancy I lost all but 4-5 lbs of the baby weight. After baby number 2 I developed hypothyroidism and weight loss was difficult to say the least. I lost 20 lbs of the 30 + lbs I gained during pregnancy quickly and then plateaued for well over a year. I got sick of it and started looking for ways to manage my weight. Funny enough I started running and even got involved in a Running Room program and have done a few races and thought that alone would help but it was not. And realizing that was not enough kicked me into high gear. Part of my current regime is eating a balanced diet and tracking on MFP. Another part of it is working out regularly and now I have a Beachbody coach which is keeping me focused and is very supportive. Some of my roadblocks have been injuries and getting colds that hamper my lungs.

I have two more running races to go:

Sept. 18 - Army run - 5K
Oct. 9 - Fall Colours run - 10K

Good luck to all in September.

Mygypsysoul

1. I drink 72 oz a day so meeting this part of the challenge is pretty easy

2. I've started Billy Blank's PT 24/7. It includes a four week schedule that rotates the workouts so it will get me through September. Hopefully be a lot stronger in four weeks.

3. After I got married in 2007 I gained 20lbs. I was working as an RN in Australia and the day shifts over there are 8 hours. It really messed with my body clock and I ended up doing a lot of late night eating. However, I didn't really pack on the weight until we moved to the US. Alabama has been a HUGE change from Sydney. All the fast food, binge and comforting eating I was doing added another 56lbs. I've already lost 30lbs and have kept 26 of them off, but I couldn't tell you how many times I've lost the same four pounds. My motivation never seemed to stick around. In June I had a surprise pregnancy which turned into a miscarriage in July and it hit me that I needed to get serious about losing weight. My husband and I want to start a family and I want to be at a much healthier weight so that our rainbow baby has the best possible chance. Anyways, so far my dedication and motivation are paying off and hopefully this challenge with help me keep going!

tnmarie

QUESTION:

I am pretty new here and have read a lot of conflicting things. Simply put...If my calorie goal is 1200 calories than my net calories at days end should be 1200, correct? If I burn 300 exercising, I should eat 1500 for a net of 1200?

Sorry, I know people ask this a lot and I searched the forums and read a number of different things. Is what I gathered correct?

Thanks

asm0118

#1) I drink LOTS of water a day! I just log 10 glasses as a generic number...some days may be closer to 8, but most days are considerably more!

#2) We have an elliptical sitting in our living room that I HATE!!! Thinking that since I've been running some, maybe my stamina is increasing, and maybe I'll give it another try!

#3) I don't have an enlightening story or anything. I'm just one of those girls that can go from 160-190 in the blink of an eye, and then it takes forever to get back down to that 160 range. I suffer from PCOS and infertility, so some of my weight gain I've blamed on that. But I'm learning that I can do something about it.