2 week challenge

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  • amysj303
    amysj303 Posts: 5,086 Member
    Thanks for weighing in my question, that really does help!
    Last night I was well under, not enough to make up for the pizza and ice cream binge on Monday, but the scale was down a pound from last week so I hope that will encourage my efforts.

    I hope no one is following my diary too closely, like yesterday it was a cookie for breakfast, breakfast sandwich for lunch, subway for dinner and a small glass of wine. no fruits or veggies at all...
  • Beeps2011
    Beeps2011 Posts: 12,188 Member
    Ugh....one more night with the relatives....lucky they are "out" tonight at a function and I plan on burying myself in catching up on some shyte I have to catch up on.

    More lay-offs at work...I think I want to be laid off, but I think I am too expensive and they won't lay me off.

    :sad:

    It f*cking sucks around here....yes, I would be TERRIFIED to be laid off and without a job, but then the die is cast and life shall go on. Instead, I sit here and with every increasing round of lay-offs, I am stressed OUTTA MY MIND.

    Sucky.

    I lifted MOnday and Tuesday....today we celebrate 2 years that my EA has been with the company, so we are all going for lunch....and likely coming back to the office with more lay-off news.

    Gawd.
  • shander7
    shander7 Posts: 613 Member
    I'm sorry you're going through lay-offs Beeps!! My company went through that last year and it is so stressful. I hope it ends soon!!
  • stephv38
    stephv38 Posts: 203 Member
    Hey All!
    Shander and Better, thanks for the encouraging words. The comparison game can get exhausting and of course benefits no one but sometimes it is nice to hear, "hey I am struggling too" or "you're not doing too bad!" :)
    I need to reassess my goals and set them out here so will do that soon. I will not have a platinum star, or any star this week as I have totally bombed today and yesterday.
    You all are doing so great! Ris! Way to go on being right at goal weight! That is pretty awesome. Shanaber, you amaze me!
  • ChLoE1130
    ChLoE1130 Posts: 1,696 Member
    Maybe it is a Midwest thing....but nobody around here really gives gifts for the wedding, Its all cash. I think we got around $15K for our wedding and I cant really remember getting any gifts. All the registry stuff was given to us at the shower.

    I am doing horrible this week. I am just in vacation mode and feel like eating and drinking whatever I please. Still getting in workouts though so I guess thats something. I think I'm gonna give myself off for these two weeks and get back to it on the 16th. I'd like to start the Stronglifts program if I can get my basement set up. The only thing I don't have that he recommends is a squat rack. Do those that have done the program think I could still get something out of it without a squat rack?

    I'd also like to get into a strict diet plan for a couple weeks after vacation. I still need to get that figured out though.
  • amysj303
    amysj303 Posts: 5,086 Member
    maybe it is a Midwest thing! I guess cash does make things easy for the gifter and giftee!

    And, maybe you noticed, I finally changed my username to reflect, well, my name and Denver, so there:bigsmile:

    Beeps, I hope whatever is meant to happen happens so you don't have to stress about it forever! That is no fun. I got laid off when I was young, working in material handling while going to college and it wasn't so bad to collect unemployment while looking for a job, which I needed to do for graduation anyway!

    Re Stronglifts, I am not sure how you would do progressively heavier squats without a rack but maybe we discussed this and you have a plan? I am thinking of revisiting 5x5 next month...

    Never say never, Steph, maybe you will get in a good workout, or not feel especially hungry one of the days and you'll be back in star range!
  • KellyBgetsfit
    KellyBgetsfit Posts: 1,713 Member
    Sorry for the late check in!!! I am working a Science Camp this week!

    I was 216 over. I need to get motivated. It is so HOT!!!! I get home from Science Camp and I just want to veg! Tomorrow I have to take my husband to the airport at 4am!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! He is going to a wedding in Chicago.

    For our wedding, we got a few gifts, some money, and some people gave us NOTHING!

    I will check in more next week!
  • Better_Balance_2011
    Better_Balance_2011 Posts: 3,711 Member
    Hey ladies. Here is the final star challenge. Great job!

    MayStarChallenge-04_zps2b6dd2a0.jpg

    As for the wedding.....I live in KY and we got mostly gifts back in 2003 and some cash and gift cards. I always try to buy off the registry if there is one (have it shipped if they are traveling) but have gotten store or credit gift cards before. I think either is fine.

    Chloe, I think you would be hard pressed to do Stronglfts without a rack and bar. Deadlifts and squats are really hard to up weight without. You could do bench press, overhead press, and back row with dumbells, but I feel like you wouldn't get the benefit of the really heavy lifting without a squat rack for the lower body stuff. If you have the room for it in your gym, look for one on Craigslist or something. I got one with like 300 pounds of weight for around $300 I think. Totally worth it. I still use it even though I'm not doing the Stronglifts program anymore. Which by the way, I REALLY liked and got great results from. I may go back to that one day....

    I'm chugging along. Not logging, but getting my workouts in. I'm sort of already in vacation mode too. We leave Saturday.

    Hi to everyone else. I've got to run. Lots to wrap up in two days! I'll try to check in before we leave. If not, have a great weekend and next week! I will be absent.
  • Better_Balance_2011
    Better_Balance_2011 Posts: 3,711 Member
    dc870763-3662-467d-9104-143026f46aca_zps1c4761b6.jpg
  • Better_Balance_2011
    Better_Balance_2011 Posts: 3,711 Member
    Sorry it looks like *kitten*. I'm having technical difficulties this a.m.....
  • ChLoE1130
    ChLoE1130 Posts: 1,696 Member
    We have a a bar/plates and bench already, so I would just need the squat rack. I am going to look into it. I figure my husband spends 20 bucks a month on his gym membership, so I should be able to make my own home gym :happy:
  • Beeps2011
    Beeps2011 Posts: 12,188 Member

    Beeps, I hope whatever is meant to happen happens so you don't have to stress about it forever! That is no fun. I got laid off when I was young, working in material handling while going to college and it wasn't so bad to collect unemployment while looking for a job, which I needed to do for graduation anyway!

    I have been laid off before, too....but, "unemployment" doesn't even come close to covering my monthly expenses, so "not working" just isn't an option for me.

    Today is a down day. I am not sleeping well. Even though I am exercising, I just remain "down". Must be work stress.

    Today, I lift!
  • Better_Balance_2011
    Better_Balance_2011 Posts: 3,711 Member
    We have a a bar/plates and bench already, so I would just need the squat rack. I am going to look into it. I figure my husband spends 20 bucks a month on his gym membership, so I should be able to make my own home gym :happy:

    Oh, so you'd just be lacking on the squats. Still....I agree. You need a squat rack for your home gym. :smile:
  • RisOnTheRun
    RisOnTheRun Posts: 624 Member
    Hi ladies!

    Beeps--so sorry to hear about the lay offs! When I was at a law firm we lived in constant fear of layoffs. It's really a morale killer! Glad to hear you're still exercising, you just have to focus on what you CAN control!

    Chloe--you definitely should be able to make your own home gym! Especially with a baby you need to be able to get in a good workout without leaving the house.

    Ashley and Chloe—I’m jealous of your vacations! Mine’s not until the end of August. Getting in that exercise is better than nothing!

    Kelly—216 over isn’t so bad, nice work!

    Amy—love the new user name!

    Steph—the beauty of the star challenge is that you have the rest of the week to make up for a bad day!


    Yesterday was a good day for me. I ate pretty well (I admit that I had a cupcake, but it fit in my calories) and I got in a good run. So far so good this week!

    *edited to comment on the rest that I couldn't see while I was replying the first time--there's lot's going on!
  • Beeps2011
    Beeps2011 Posts: 12,188 Member
    I have nearly 2 decades of history posting on some chat forums with other women....here was an interesting post one of them popped up there, today:

    "The stuff we have been told about sex, age, weight, most men don't give a flying fig about. He really gave me the freedom to just do what I wanted and be true to myself and trust myself.

    After that, I spent the better part of a year being the only girl in a comedy troupe of up to 18 guys. Through that experience, I learned men really don't care about a lot of **** that we have been told they care about. They pretty much find something attractive about EVERY women, regardless of weight, hair length (the number of guys that find short hair sexy REALLY surprised me), age, etc. Yes they find some women more attractive but pretty much every woman they saw was 'hot'. It was shocking for me. And do you know what all this taught me?

    Insecurity is all just a big marketing tool. It is harder to have a multi-billion dollar health and beauty business when women know the truth and love the way they look. How can you have a mult-billion dollar self-help and empowerment movement? A multi-million dollar relationship book movement? You tell people there is something fundamentally wrong with who they are.

    You keep saying you try so hard to be normal. Stop trying to be something you aren't. Be who you are. Give yourself a chance. You are way more awesome and have way more to offer than you think."

    ....just something to think about as each of us (daily?!?!?) applies critical analysis to our own selves....
  • amysj303
    amysj303 Posts: 5,086 Member
    I went to happy hour and that started a binge, I do not feel good today! Got a baseball game tonight, not sure what I will eat for dinner. Usually I love eating at baseball games but this week I just feel overfed, hung over and tired. I will need another low-cal day and a good calorie burn if I am going to save this week.

    I am excited about my Triple Crown party Saturday. I made up a frozen punch made with bourbon, sun tea, orange juice and lemonade. Then you pour in ginger beer. yum! I am calling it "Belmont Tea.":

    I am jealous of vacations too! I don't have anything on the horizon, but I will travel to Phoenix for work. Ah, phoenix in June:)
  • Better_Balance_2011
    Better_Balance_2011 Posts: 3,711 Member
    Nice post Beeps. I agree. We are way too hard on ourselves and the marketing industry does not help the negative feelings we harbor. We all know it, but continue to have these thoughts.... Endless cycle.

    Yum Amy! I want to come to your party. :wink: Have fun. Come on California Chrome! Get the Triple Crown!
  • stephv38
    stephv38 Posts: 203 Member
    I second that, Better, nice post Beeps!

    Amy, that drink sounds yummy! When you get a second post the recipe, it would be a fun occasional cocktail for summer!

    For the first time in quite a while, I didnt even log yesterday. It was cookies, cookies, chocolate and more chocolate. I ate so much my stomach hurt and then I ate more. No good. No good at all. Thankfully, I am continuing to learn and actually grow stronger from the binge cycle. Right now, I am going to go cold turkey on any dessert type things. Cookies, cake, ice cream, candy. Just need to do that right now. I am also going to be choosy about carbs. Fruit, veggies- yes. One piece of my multi grain bread in the am. I am going to keep my cals at 1600 a day and keep running while we are Germany. Today I did 3 miles. When we get to the states and I am back with my gym I will re-focus on lifting.

    Onward!
  • Beeps2011
    Beeps2011 Posts: 12,188 Member
    I am down 1 lb for the week, so the calorie-deficit is working!

    Yay!!

    I really wish it would be 1 lb loss per week....that I could totally handle. It is when it slows to 0.2 lbs per week that I just wanna tear my hair out!

    Amy,your Triple Crown party sounds SOOOOOOOOOOOOOO FUN!!

    Better - I actually like my body very much and I am really going to practice some "gratitude"....I'm gonna need it if I really am gonna survive a 12-week deficit, lol!

    stephv38 - dessert can send me into BINGE-territory SO easily! That reminds me....I need to go brush my teeth, RIGHT NOW, so i don't eat one more morsel before afternoon snack time!
  • ChLoE1130
    ChLoE1130 Posts: 1,696 Member
    At what weight did you NEED the squat rack. I'm hoping to start when I get back from vacation and I probably won't be able to get one immediately, but hopefully in a few weeks.
  • amysj303
    amysj303 Posts: 5,086 Member
    I am not sure what weight I needed the squat rack. I started at 45 (the bar) and upped the weight each week by 5 lbs and got up to 95, I think. I was only able to overhead press 60, as I recall. But you could do front squats to whatever weight you can bring up to your chest, those are harder for me (less weight on front squats than having it on my shoulders). Or you could do them one-legged so the weight would be lighter (opposite foot on bench behind).

    The recipe is easy-it makes a ton (like 22 cups, I think)-Boil 2 cups of water, steep 4 tea bags (I did regular black tea but could do anything you wanted I think) add to 7 cups of cold water, 1.5 cups sugar, 1 can frozen OJ, 1 can frozen lemonade, 3 cups of bourbon, stir and freeze. serve with a splash of ginger beer.

    I got some hippity hop balls with a horse cover (for racing) and I hope my husband can set up horseshoes, he said with my garden now it's hard to get the distance up to regulation and we paved the other part last year.

    Good for you on the pound, Beeps! I was posting the same time as the other part that you wrote which I did enjoy. But I think the other point about that is, we shouldn't really care what men like either. I mean, we should be happy with ourselves, be grateful for what we have. There is a lot of pressure but from who? Ourselves, right? the pressure is not from men, or media or society, truly, it's the message we take to heart-the one we tell ourselves. I have been thinking about it a lot actually.
    In my effort to spend less I think grateful helps a lot. It turns a little into enough:smile:
  • shanaber
    shanaber Posts: 6,423 Member
    Wow - I have soo much to catch up on just being away for a day or so!

    Beeps - I love the post and believe it is so true. It makes me sad that I see our girls (daughters, nieces, friends, selves) believing that we have to 'be' physically,mentally, socially whatever someone says we should be. We need to empower our girls (and especially ourselves) to love who we are. Years ago we talked about breaking the glass ceiling and here we are still just starting to see strong, smart women move to the top of companies,organizations or governments - it makes me sad that we are still at a point to applaud that accomplishment. It should be an everyday occurrence that we are used to by now! (off my soapbox now!)

    Also Beeps - I too am looking at layoffs - pretty much at the end of each quarter. Many changes, reorgs and repositioning going on to make things stressful. It is one of the things that gets me out the door and running pretty much every day. I would go crazy otherwise!

    Amy the party sounds like so much fun and while that punch sounds delicious I am pretty sure it would knock me on my butt! will be cheering for California Chrome and then watching the 2nd game of the Stanley Cup playoffs - go Kings!!

    Steph - how much longer will you be in Germany? Hang in there - we all need those bust days where we want to and do eat everything in sight. The important thing is to put it in the past where it belongs and go forward from there.

    Chloe - I don't have a home gym so I am no help, I just do what I need to do at my little local gym or at the gym I go to with my trainer...

    So far I am having a pretty good week. Today was the first day I was over and just by 32. If I can keep it up I will make platinum. I ran or tried to run intervals today - died by the last set and felt terrible when I got home. I was hot and couldn't cool down and just felt yucky and then exhausted. Lifting made me feel better - at least felt like I was still able to function :)

    Almost to the weekend! YAY!! :happy:
  • Beeps2011
    Beeps2011 Posts: 12,188 Member


    Also Beeps - I too am looking at layoffs - pretty much at the end of each quarter. Many changes, reorgs and repositioning going on to make things stressful. It is one of the things that gets me out the door and running pretty much every day. I would go crazy otherwise!


    so true that when I did cardio every single day, I waaaayyyyyy better managed my stress!

    Now, I can't fit cardio in everyday - and I really like the body shape I get with weights.

    Having said that, I promised myself I would do more walking as summer arrives, but it really hasn't arrived - literally it was 3 degrees when I woke up this morning!

    GAWD.
  • shanaber
    shanaber Posts: 6,423 Member

    so true that when I did cardio every single day, I waaaayyyyyy better managed my stress!

    Now, I can't fit cardio in everyday - and I really like the body shape I get with weights.

    Having said that, I promised myself I would do more walking as summer arrives, but it really hasn't arrived - literally it was 3 degrees when I woke up this morning!

    GAWD.

    The only reason I can do it is because I work from home and can fit it around meetings and deliverables. Do you do weights every day? I go twice a week (with trainer) and am trying to get in a 3rd day on my own.

    Where you are cold we are already getting hot and I don't like it at all - seems like it has been summer since January. Hope the storms moving across the US aren't heading up your way - pretty sure though that the cold air from Canad is what comes down and hits the warmer air here and causes the severe thunder storms.
  • amysj303
    amysj303 Posts: 5,086 Member
    3 degrees? yikes!
    I went to the Rockies game last night. It poured rain before that but turned into a really nice night to be outside. Too bad they lost, I thought they had a chance.

    I will be able to have a healthy dinner tonight, no drinking, maybe a run, and another in the morning and a low-low Sunday would make a dent in this terrible week I am having. But TOM started so that explains it a little bit...

    Have a great weekend everyone! and good luck to California Chrome, and the Kings:tongue:
  • Beeps2011
    Beeps2011 Posts: 12,188 Member
    Well, the Kings surely are firing on ALL cylinders right now!

    Had a terrible eating weekend....hopefully it didn't undo ALL the good work I put in last week.

    Will shave off another 350 (weekly) calories to make sure I am "back-on-track" this week.

    I am going to go to the gym today, but am already feeling zzzzzzzzzzzzzzz - hopefully I'll get back into the swing of it, rather than leave the gym feeling still zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz.

    How did everybody else do this weekend?
  • amysj303
    amysj303 Posts: 5,086 Member
    Well, no star-I was 1635 over, but it wasn't so bad considering the week I had. I am on track for a good week, shooting for 1500/day for the next two weeks. Then I want to see where I am and if I need to go lower.
    I tried this recipe: http://www.goop.com/recipes/dinner/turkey-ragu
    It says it makes 4 servings but it is a lot more, I would say 8. Even over pasta it's less than 400 cals per serving and yummy.

    Triple Crown party was fun, I was a little sad California Chrome didn't win, that would have been cool. The slushy punch was a big hit.

    I am super sleepy today, too, Beeps, I don't know why...
  • RisOnTheRun
    RisOnTheRun Posts: 624 Member
    Beeps—love that repost! And great job on the 1 pound loss!

    Amy—your Belmont Tea sounds delicious! I was craving ginger beer the other day :smile: Glad your party was fun!

    steph—getting out the binge cycle is HARD. You can get out of it though! Being honest with yourself is a step in the right direction. Sometimes it’s helpful to have a go-to healthier substitute. I kicked my take-out pizza habit (where I would eat a whole large pizza in one night on occasion) by switching to small frozen pizzas. For desserts (another weakness) I just don’t keep them in the house.

    shanaber—glad to hear you had a good week!

    Platinum star for me! I had a pretty good weekend. I shouldn't have had as many beers as I did, but I was okay on calories. I did a long run on Saturday (14 miles), so that definitely helped keep my net calories in check. Not much else to report.
  • ramalem
    ramalem Posts: 1,066 Member
    Hi ladies,

    Quick check-in Platinum Star for me this week (even though my eating has been less than stellar).

    I'll be back in a little bit to catch up with everyone!
  • KellyBgetsfit
    KellyBgetsfit Posts: 1,713 Member
    Beeps- Great Post! My husband always tells me he doesn't care about my weight. In fact, he can't tell that I have gained any weight.

    Ris- Great job staying under! I think if the beers fit in your calories AND you run 14 miles, you're doing great.

    Amy- Sounds like a fun week!

    Ram- Great week!

    I was under this week too!!!! Are we still doing the star challenge? I am going to pretend we are. I have 2 more weeks until vacation. I am happy that I have some cute clothes and a swimsuit that fits. I would still like to firm up my tummy so i am going to watch the carbs for the next two weeks and step up the cardio. I have been doing 2-3 30 min cardios, a few blogilates, and a day or two of weights. For the next 2 weeks, I want 5 30 min cardios, 3 strengths, and 2 blogilates.
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