Thinner for Thanksgiving! 7 week challenge

kmvp08

Today I did 7 regular + 13 bent knee push-ups -- got in 1 more regular push-up than yesterday! -- and my usual workout of ~15 min of other calisthenics and 45 min. on the Stairmaster. Increasing by 1 regular push-up each day is great! I think I'm going to keep doing that even after this week.

I plan all of my meals in advance. Like Dave, I don't mind eating the same things every day, so I just make up a different menu for each of my 5 meals, and then I just use that meal plan every day for a week. I follow that same basic meal plan every week,, but each week I swap in different fruits and veggies for variety.

I also cook up a huge batch of veggies on the weekend and eat it for the rest of the week. I usually make a stir fry of asparagus (3 lbs), cauliflower (3 lbs), red bell peppers (3 lbs), zucchini (3 lbs), white onions (2 lbs), and celery (1 lb). I just stir fry each veggie separately, and then mix it all together with ~1 1/8 cups of Kraft Light Balsamic Vinaigrette dressing. I also stir fry a big batch of broccoli (~3.5 lbs), and I mix it with oyster sauce (~5.5 tbsp) and Thai chili paste (3.5 tsp).

@ Mandy (Mandalicious) - that's great progress on the push-ups! I'm having a great time with this challenge too. This is the first one that I've done, and it really makes a big difference to be in a group like this. I feel more motivated now than I've felt all year! Your recipes sound yummy...I'm definitely going to try them. I'd heard about quinoa but never made it before, so I'm looking forward to trying it!

@ Kelly (kmvp08) -- I know how you feel...work gets really crazy for me sometimes too. That's why I always do my workout first thing in the morning, otherwise I'd end up not being able to do it half the time. Thanks for the recipe! The only root vegetables I've ever roasted are potatoes and yams, and I've never even cooked rutabega, turnip, or parsnips before. I'm going to try your recipe too!

Yum, those combos sound good. On the workouts I've switched to morning the last few days and also started to just do something, ie walk, burpees, whatever if I have 10-15 minutes. My physcial activity calories were low this week so I have to pump it up!

Balanced_Life

As of today (10/7) I am down to 150.6! :happy: And I'm up to 8 regular pushups and 12 from my knees--which is quite an accomplishment since I've never been able to do 'real' pushups at all! Thanks for all the encouragment! I'm looking forward to seeing all of your successes from our first week of the Thanksgiving challenge.

By the way, that's down from 153.0 as my starting weight this month! Yay!

That's great progress on the push-ups and the weight loss!

Balanced_Life

Wow I can't believe I can now do 20 bent knees push ups! How crazy that a week ago I've only done a few push ups in my whole life. It just goes to show that I can do anything I put my mind to. Love having that kind of power LOL

Weigh In: 208.8 4.2 lb loss :drinker: :bigsmile: :drinker:

@ Maria -- great job all around! Keep up the good work!

Balanced_Life

10/07 Weigh-in = 236.2. Down 2.6 pounds from last week and I could not be happier! Especially with all that damn chocolate cake in the house that I just had to have!!!

I've been doing the pushups everyday, it even got to the point last night that i was in bed for about 15 minutes before I realized I'd forgotten to do them. Jumped out of bed onto the floor and did my 20 pushups. I

@ Dave - that's dedication! :laugh: Awesome work this week -- great job!

Balanced_Life

I was delighted to get on the scale this morning! I weighed 126.0, down from 128.5 last week! Took a peek yesterday with the same result, and I thought somehow it was a fluke. I do find, though, that my weight often plateaus temporarily and then drops. Woohoo! Also, I got 20 REGULAR push-ups in last night. TWENTY! I still can't believe it. Six months ago, I had never done them in my life (nor could I successfully).

@ Mandy -- that's fantastic! Excellent progress on the push-ups!

kmvp08

I did not have a weight loss this week. :huh: I've been on a plateau for about 6 weeks now, gaining and losing the same 3 pounds. Ok, I guess that's not really a plateau, there was a vacation in there with a small weight gain and then a 3 week plateau. This is the first time in 6 months that I have not consistently lost weight and it's frustrating.

I will say that I feel smaller in these last 6 weeks and I went shopping this week and actually bought some size SMALLs (sizes vary so much, I know) so while I'm trying to be patient with my actual number I do need to analyze what I'm doing differently vs the previous 5 months. I feel good and that makes me happy and those NSVs help when the numbers don't move.

Part of the issue is exercise. I could eat 500 calories/day and if I don't exercise I still won't lose weight. It's good to know these things about yourself. What makes it difficult is that life gets in the way and unfortunately I'm not independently wealthy so I still have to work. Darn it!

I have to go back and re-work my schedule and remember what's most important and what takes precedent.

Glad to have MFP and my community of friends at CrossFit and challenges like this that keep me in the game.

It's a good day to KEEP TRYING! :happy:

Thanks for all of YOUR help and for sharing. Exposing ourselves is not always easy.

Balanced_Life

I will get our spreadsheet updated later today and also set up another weekly mini-challenge. Any thoughts on that??

I suggested to Mandy that we do like 50 jumping jacks or 50 crunches as our daily mini goal for this week. If we do change it up, I still plan on doing the 20 push ups to, as I think it is helping my overall goal of achieving a healhier me

How about situps or ab work? We can work up to a 60 sec Plank or 90 seconds, not sure what a good number is for everyone, but it will work your core!

All of those are good suggestions! I was going to suggest the plank as well, so I vote for that. That's a great core exercise! I can do 75 sec right now, and would love to improve on that. I'm with Dave -- I'm going to keep doing the 20 push-ups and will keep substituting 1 regular push-up for 1 bent knee push-up each day (I could do 8 regular push-ups as of today).

Balanced_Life

On the roasted veggies - if you don't feel like making your own or you're crunched for time both Traders Joes and Costco sell frozen roasted veggies. Just watch the sauce and sodium levels if that's a concern.

@ Kelly - thanks for the suggestion! I'm going to check that out next time I go to those places.

Balanced_Life

On the workouts I've switched to morning the last few days and also started to just do something, ie walk, burpees, whatever if I have 10-15 minutes. My physcial activity calories were low this week so I have to pump it up!

@ Kelly - that's great! every little bit helps. This week I've also been trying to get extra exercise at every opportunity. Whenever I can walk back and forth instead of standing, I'll do that (did that a bunch of times while waiting outside a conference room!). Whenever I have to stand, I stand on 1 leg and do leg lifts with the other. I'm going to try and keep doing this going forward -- hopefully it helps burn a bit more fat!

henney16

I did not have a weight loss this week. :huh: I've been on a plateau for about 6 weeks now, gaining and losing the same 3 pounds. Ok, I guess that's not really a plateau, there was a vacation in there with a small weight gain and then a 3 week plateau. This is the first time in 6 months that I have not consistently lost weight and it's frustrating.

I will say that I feel smaller in these last 6 weeks and I went shopping this week and actually bought some size SMALLs (sizes vary so much, I know) so while I'm trying to be patient with my actual number I do need to analyze what I'm doing differently vs the previous 5 months. I feel good and that makes me happy and those NSVs help when the numbers don't move.

Part of the issue is exercise. I could eat 500 calories/day and if I don't exercise I still won't lose weight. It's good to know these things about yourself. What makes it difficult is that life gets in the way and unfortunately I'm not independently wealthy so I still have to work. Darn it!

I have to go back and re-work my schedule and remember what's most important and what takes precedent.

Glad to have MFP and my community of friends at CrossFit and challenges like this that keep me in the game.

It's a good day to KEEP TRYING! :happy:

Thanks for all of YOUR help and for sharing. Exposing ourselves is not always easy.

Hang int there. Sometimes its just about changing things up. You have to keep your body guessing to keep things going sometimes. It is good to know that you need the exercise to actually show results. Knowing your body is half the battle in my opinion. Knowing what works for you will help you to achieve that goals you wish to reach.

I too had to re-evaluate / prioritize things once September hit. My wife's schedule as well as mine changed up a bit, which meant more juggling of parenting duties to accomodate with our work schedules. So, my fitness plans changed a bit. At that point I decided to join a gym so I could work out at night after work (get off at 10) or early in the morning before my wife goes to work at 930. So far it has worked for me, and I continue to move in the right direction. We are in this together, and we will push you through this to get to where you want! Keep up the good work and it will show!

Dave

Balanced_Life

I'm 133.8 today -- I was 136.8 last Friday, so I'm down 3 lbs! I was only expecting to lose ~1 lb, so that was a pleasant surprise. I think part of that weight loss is from decreased water retention from following my eating/exercise plans closely since the challenge started, but its very encouraging nevertheless!

Awesome work, everyone! Its great to see everyone doing so well! Let's make it a great week 2!

Hope everyone has a great rest of the day and a great weekend!

henney16

I'm 133.8 today -- I was 136.8 last Friday, so I'm down 3 lbs! I was only expecting to lose ~1 lb, so that was a pleasant surprise. I think part of that weight loss is from decreased water retention from following my eating/exercise plans closely since the challenge started, but its very encouraging nevertheless!

Awesome work, everyone! Its great to see everyone doing so well! Let's make is a great week 2!

Hope everyone has a great rest of the day and a great weekend!

Awesome job Mimi - keep it up! enjoy your weekend as well! I will be at work, like normal!

Dave

Balanced_Life

I did not have a weight loss this week. :huh: I've been on a plateau for about 6 weeks now, gaining and losing the same 3 pounds. Ok, I guess that's not really a plateau, there was a vacation in there with a small weight gain and then a 3 week plateau. This is the first time in 6 months that I have not consistently lost weight and it's frustrating.

I will say that I feel smaller in these last 6 weeks and I went shopping this week and actually bought some size SMALLs (sizes vary so much, I know) so while I'm trying to be patient with my actual number I do need to analyze what I'm doing differently vs the previous 5 months. I feel good and that makes me happy and those NSVs help when the numbers don't move.

Part of the issue is exercise. I could eat 500 calories/day and if I don't exercise I still won't lose weight. It's good to know these things about yourself. What makes it difficult is that life gets in the way and unfortunately I'm not independently wealthy so I still have to work. Darn it!

I have to go back and re-work my schedule and remember what's most important and what takes precedent.

Glad to have MFP and my community of friends at CrossFit and challenges like this that keep me in the game.

It's a good day to KEEP TRYING! :happy:

Thanks for all of YOUR help and for sharing. Exposing ourselves is not always easy.

Hang int there. Sometimes its just about changing things up. You have to keep your body guessing to keep things going sometimes. It is good to know that you need the exercise to actually show results. Knowing your body is half the battle in my opinion. Knowing what works for you will help you to achieve that goals you wish to reach.

I too had to re-evaluate / prioritize things once September hit. My wife's schedule as well as mine changed up a bit, which meant more juggling of parenting duties to accomodate with our work schedules. So, my fitness plans changed a bit. At that point I decided to join a gym so I could work out at night after work (get off at 10) or early in the morning before my wife goes to work at 930. So far it has worked for me, and I continue to move in the right direction. We are in this together, and we will push you through this to get to where you want! Keep up the good work and it will show!

Dave

@ Kelly - what Dave said! I was missing workouts because stuff kept coming up at work, so a few months ago I started working out first thing in the morning, and now I almost never miss a workout. I'm like you on the exercise. ~400-450 of my daily calorie deficit of 500-550 cal is from exercise, since I don't feel well if I don't eat at least ~1600-1650 cal/day (maintenance for me without exercise is ~1750 cal/day). I don't lose any weight if I don't exercise, so my workout gets priority over everything each day (except for the occasional crisis situations at work!).

Anyway, here's an article that has good into on "unexplainable" weight loss plateaus: http://www.burnthefatblog.com/archives/2011/01/unexplainable-fat-loss-plateaus-explained.php That article might give you some insight into what you need to do differently to get your weight loss back on track.

kmvp08

I'm 133.8 today -- I was 136.8 last Friday, so I'm down 3 lbs! I was only expecting to lose ~1 lb, so that was a pleasant surprise. I think part of that weight loss is from decreased water retention from following my eating/exercise plans closely since the challenge started, but its very encouraging nevertheless!

Awesome work, everyone! Its great to see everyone doing so well! Let's make it a great week 2!

Hope everyone has a great rest of the day and a great weekend!

Woohoo, great job! We're doing well, here's to week 2!

kmvp08

Hang int there. Sometimes its just about changing things up. You have to keep your body guessing to keep things going sometimes. It is good to know that you need the exercise to actually show results. Knowing your body is half the battle in my opinion. Knowing what works for you will help you to achieve that goals you wish to reach.

I too had to re-evaluate / prioritize things once September hit. My wife's schedule as well as mine changed up a bit, which meant more juggling of parenting duties to accomodate with our work schedules. So, my fitness plans changed a bit. At that point I decided to join a gym so I could work out at night after work (get off at 10) or early in the morning before my wife goes to work at 930. So far it has worked for me, and I continue to move in the right direction. We are in this together, and we will push you through this to get to where you want! Keep up the good work and it will show!

Dave

@ Kelly - what Dave said! I was missing workouts because stuff kept coming up at work, so a few months ago I started working out first thing in the morning, and now I almost never miss a workout. I'm like you on the exercise. ~400-450 of my daily calorie deficit of 500-550 cal is from exercise, since I don't feel well if I don't eat at least ~1600-1650 cal/day (maintenance for me without exercise is ~1750 cal/day). I don't lose any weight if I don't exercise, so my workout gets priority over everything each day (except for the occasional crisis situations at work!).

Anyway, here's an article that has good into on "unexplainable" weight loss plateaus: http://www.burnthefatblog.com/archives/2011/01/unexplainable-fat-loss-plateaus-explained.php That article might give you some insight into what you need to do differently to get your weight loss back on track.

Thanks Dave and Mimi! Appreciate the support and responses and thanks for the link.

kmvp08

On the workouts I've switched to morning the last few days and also started to just do something, ie walk, burpees, whatever if I have 10-15 minutes. My physcial activity calories were low this week so I have to pump it up!

@ Kelly - that's great! every little bit helps. This week I've also been trying to get extra exercise at every opportunity. Whenever I can walk back and forth instead of standing, I'll do that (did that a bunch of times while waiting outside a conference room!). Whenever I have to stand, I stand on 1 leg and do leg lifts with the other. I'm going to try and keep doing this going forward -- hopefully it helps burn a bit more fat!

Great ideas, every little bit does count. For those wondering what people actually do when they're on conference calls...

Mandalicious

MINI-CHALLENGE for the week:

In addition to your normal exercise routine, 3 times per day hold a plank position for your maximum time! Then follow with jumping jacks for 3 minutes.

Here is a great website for all levels and variations of plank pose. Pick the one that's right for you to start. Try to lengthen your hold or progress to a more challenging variation each day. http://www.bodyresults.com/e2planks.asp

For the jumping jacks, get it going for 3 straight minutes. You can also modify these to fit your current level. (I know that when I first started this fitness journey, I couldn't do standard jacks without my knees killing me.) The link below shows a short, great video with lots of modifications. For beginners, do standing jacks by moving both arms up and only one leg out to the side at a time. Or try jumping both feet apart but keep your hands on your hips. If you want a bit more challenge, try doing jacks with ankle weights or dumbbells for upper body resistance.
http://www.celebritynetworth.com/video/jumping-jacks-with-modifications-exercise-475056273/

Okay, peeps. And another key here is THREE times per day. Morning, afternoon, evening - get them in! And that's actually going to add up to about an hour and a half of extra exercise this week when you put it together.

Heading for some planks and jacks now...

kyodi

Sept. 30: 269.8
Oct 07: 269.8

No loss. Not much working out and hospital cafe food I believe to be the culprit. Back at work today so I hit the gym hard and did lifting for legs and shoulders. Felt good. Hope for a better weigh in next week. Two days behind on the pushups from last week too. I will finish them tonight, and start on the next mini challenge.

MarineWifey09

I have been soo MIA from moving and getting situated but I've stuck to my diet and exercise. I need to post my weight tomorrow though bc I have had NO time for the gym!! Good job everyone keep it up!!!

momof2_0710

Hey everyone I'm so happy for everyone that lost weight. For me I lost 1lb and I am happy for that.
Starting was 149lbs
10/07: 148lbs

Keep up the good work guys

Balanced_Life

Sept. 30: 269.8
Oct 07: 269.8

No loss. Not much working out and hospital cafe food I believe to be the culprit. Back at work today so I hit the gym hard and did lifting for legs and shoulders. Felt good. Hope for a better weigh in next week. Two days behind on the pushups from last week too. I will finish them tonight, and start on the next mini challenge.

In that situation, not gaining any weight is already really good! Good job on getting back into the exercise right away, and on keeping up with the push-ups!

Balanced_Life

Hey everyone I'm so happy for everyone that lost weight. For me I lost 1lb and I am happy for that.
Starting was 149lbs
10/07: 148lbs

Keep up the good work guys

@ Jay -- great job! The 1 lb loss puts you ahead of schedule.

Mandalicious

Just wanted to let everyone know that the results I have so far have been entered to the spreadsheet:
www.schmole.com/myfitnesspal/results.htm

Going to hit my last round of jumping jacks tonight!

henney16

MINI-CHALLENGE for the week:

In addition to your normal exercise routine, 3 times per day hold a plank position for your maximum time! Then follow with jumping jacks for 3 minutes.

Here is a great website for all levels and variations of plank pose. Pick the one that's right for you to start. Try to lengthen your hold or progress to a more challenging variation each day. http://www.bodyresults.com/e2planks.asp

For the jumping jacks, get it going for 3 straight minutes. You can also modify these to fit your current level. (I know that when I first started this fitness journey, I couldn't do standard jacks without my knees killing me.) The link below shows a short, great video with lots of modifications. For beginners, do standing jacks by moving both arms up and only one leg out to the side at a time. Or try jumping both feet apart but keep your hands on your hips. If you want a bit more challenge, try doing jacks with ankle weights or dumbbells for upper body resistance.
http://www.celebritynetworth.com/video/jumping-jacks-with-modifications-exercise-475056273/

Okay, peeps. And another key here is THREE times per day. Morning, afternoon, evening - get them in! And that's actually going to add up to about an hour and a half of extra exercise this week when you put it together.

Heading for some planks and jacks now...

WOO Mandy - this is some crazy stuff lol! I Hit the bike tonight after work and logged my exercise around 11pm when I got done and saw your comment about this weeks mini-challenge. I wasn't on my computer at work today so I didn't see this post above. So, when I got home from the gym, I said hello to my wife, gave her a kiss and went back downstairs to get one session in for today.

Regular Push-up style plank for about 70 seconds. 3 minutes of standard jumping jacks (stopped twice for about 10 seconds total). I also continued on with my 20 regular pushups. Tomorrow is my off day of working out, but I will try and get this in. If i don't, just means I'll have to double up on my day off monday and do 6 sessions!

After my min-challenge I enjoyed my ice cream cone for my threat day today It was delcious!

MarineWifey09

So first thing today I weighed in and I lost 2 lbs! That puts me at 126! First time in a year I've weighed that. Lol I tell you what movig and putting together a house an watching a puppy 24/7 will do that!

Balanced_Life

So first thing today I weighed in and I lost 2 lbs! That puts me at 126! First time in a year I've weighed that. Lol I tell you what movig and putting together a house an watching a puppy 24/7 will do that!

:laugh: That's awesome!

MarineWifey09

And PS 3 minutes of jacks is harder than I thought LOL

henney16

And PS 3 minutes of jacks is harder than I thought LOL

I hear that. I thought it wouldn't be a big deal because I do the 30 Day Shred a couple times a week. I went about a minute and a half yesterday without stopping. had to stop a few seconds to catch my breath and continued on. Samething this morning! I'm either going to have to do 2 sessions tonight or get an extra one tomorrow. I'm too busy watching the baseball game

Dave

MarineWifey09

And PS 3 minutes of jacks is harder than I thought LOL

I hear that. I thought it wouldn't be a big deal because I do the 30 Day Shred a couple times a week. I went about a minute and a half yesterday without stopping. had to stop a few seconds to catch my breath and continued on. Samething this morning! I'm either going to have to do 2 sessions tonight or get an extra one tomorrow. I'm too busy watching the baseball game

Dave

Ohhh yeah go Rangers!!!! And it's 11:23 PM here I was just about to go to bed but I checked this and you reminded me to do some more jumping jacks lol. I had to stop at one and a half minutes too. I'll work harder to making it the whole way through!

Keisha604

I'm here! I'm here! Caught a bug over the weekend and did nothing but lay in bed. As for my Friday weigh-in...still at 145. Usually I'd be bummed about not losing, but I'm happy I didn't gain!