May Day Challenge!

lisawest

Welcome, lildebbie! Glad you are here!

I second that! Just to catch you up a little, we are doing weekly challenges. Your choice whether or not to join. This week's challenge is 5 days of exercise. If you have specific areas that you have difficulty with, let us know and we will try to make that into one of our challenges.

lildebbie

Thanks for the welcome's.

My biggest challenge is water and eating good, water and exercise on the weekends. Seems when I am in some type of routine i do okay.

I just got the wii ea active game tonight and it was a good workout...i was tired.

kath711

Did 35 minutes running and 20 minutes of weight.

My biggest challenge is actually keeping up once I lose a little. For instance, i weigh and I am down a pound Then i think, now i can eat a little more and get stuck. Hard to keep motivated. Late night snacking is also a challenge.

kathleen

Mande_G

Workouts: 3/5 done

WHAT WEIGHT LOSS STRUGGLES DO YOU HAVE???????

Sweets. Especially after dinner. I have always had a sweet tooth. I'm pretty good at keeping them in moderation (if you count 1 serving once a day moderation), but I really want to stop craving/eating them on a regular basis!!! :mad: I'm SO glad the holidays are over and I can get rid of the last little bits of sweets. Maybe it wont be so hard once they are completely out of the house!

twt1999brd

I have a problem with drinking enough water. I drink about 40oz a day. I feel like I would constantly have that bottle in my mouth to drink another 40.

amboardman

I've gotten 3 workouts in so far this week. Really low on motivation, so I'm having to make myself do it...not feeling just great, sore throat, my body just feels tired. But "this too shall pass" and I'll feel like kicking fat's butt again soon. Doing good with the water drinking...I keep a 32 oz glass on my desk at work and try to drink 2 of those during the day, then it's water for dinner at home, so I easily get 10 glasses a day in. Glad to see everyone doing so well. Weigh in tomorrow...woohoo!

Chocolickkyss

Great idea ladies!! My struggles are sweets and exercise. (When I was pregnant with my son, I frequently craved sugar. Not chocolate or anything like that, just straight sugar:noway: )

I know there are several in your boat with the cooking thing. However, I can also tell you that there are people in this group (Mary msh0530:bigsmile: love you Aunt Mary!) who can give you lots of ideas and suggestions about cooking. She is the QUEEN of cooking ahead. Almost every trick I know, I learned from her.

Also, if you live in a large enough town, you may have businesses that help you create meals. They provide you with a recipe, all the ingredients, and containers to put them in. You come in, put the meals together, take them home and freeze them. Then you take them out, cook as instructed, and enjoy! A friend and I did this when we lived in the same city. We had a great time, chatting, cooking, and having a girls day. It's more expensive than doing it all at home, but it gave us different ideas for meals that I then added to our regular lineup. Something to think about!

Thank for the suggestions Lisa, is your aunt Mary apart of this thread b/c I'm interested what she can offer a novice cooker like myself

As it stands the struggles are: cooking regularly, eating healthy on the weekends, eating sweets/chocolate and exercising.

ANY OTHER STRUGGLES OUT THERE?

Yes, Aunt Mary is here. When I was young, I struggled every night with "What do I fix? How do I get the meat thawed?" and other challenges. (Yes, that was pre-microwave days.) I finally forced myself into a habit of making a menu for a month at a time, buying all groceries that would keep, making a small weekly or so list of perishables to go back to the store for. Then I could get up in the morning, look at the menu, set out meat or do whatever needed done ahead, and go on with my day. I also hate to go to the grocery store, so this works well for me. The checkers at the local store know me, and probably hate to see my loaded cart coming, but also know that they aren't likely to see me again for several weeks. I am also addicted to cookbooks and trying new recipes - ask my poor husband who hardly ever gets the same meal twice! Tell me your specific problems/questions, and I will try to help. Got to go mix a batch of my own oatmeal mix (I don't use those nasty packets.)

Aunty Mary to the rescue, thank you for your willingness to throw some ideas out there. My biggest issue is that I need very easy recipes. Easy to me is very few steps and ingredients. If I have to go to the grocery store to purchase ingredients I've never heard of or wont use consistently b/c its specific to this one recipe I become overwhelmed and am less likely to follow through. Also, I'm a single lady w/no children so I cook for one. The few times I do follow recipes the serving sizes are for larger families and I don't know how to convert to a single or a couple of servings.

I seem to do alright w/making breakfast (oatmeal, omlets, muffins etc) but become a bit nervous when tackling a dinner.

Thank in advance.

Chocolickkyss

Good morning ladies and thank for sharing some of your weight loss struggles....together we can conquer all or at least give motivation and support when we fall short.

As it stands the struggles are: cooking regularly, eating healthy on the weekends, eating sweets/chocolate, exercising regularly, late night snacking and drinking enough water.

Since the weekend begins tomorrow perhaps we can have a mini challenge specific for the weekend (Friday and Saturday) and another one that begins on Sunday. I was thinking that for the mini challenge we could have everyone think of their meals in advance for that day and not only log them in their food log but also post them in this thread so we can see what everyone plans to eat and if people need healthier options the group can offer suggestions. Then check in at the end of that day to let the group know if you stuck to your meal plan. Since everyone is looking to be held accountable posting your food in the actual thread may help. This would just be for Friday and Saturday (I know planning far in advance can be difficult)

I know this may not work for everyone but wanted to offer at least one suggestion. If anyone else has any ideas for challenges that will help people not only remain w/in their calories during the weekend but also encourage healthy eating please post them.

I was also thinking that the challenge for the week could be no sweets for a week. I was on a previous thread where it was a challenge of no sweets til christmas and at the end of the day everyone would post their count (for example: chocolickkyss: 1 sweets: 0, which meant I went one day w/o indulging in sweets. If on day two I did have some type of sweet I would report chocolickkys: 1 sweets: 1 etc....)

As I indicated before, these are just suggestions. Let me know what you think or if you have a challenge that may work better.

My workout is complete for the day. I completed 55 minutes of a dvd called "Melt it off" and I'm glad it's over. It's a combination of cardio and weights (weighted ball).

Thursday count:

Chocolickkyss: 4 workouts completed.

Have a great day.

ourgang

I am MOST DEF in on the weekend challenge!!! and next week!!!! No sweets, ok, but I usually do good at just a taste to satisfy me, but I'm gonna do it with none for the week...:bigsmile:

I completed 30 min's this morning with Jillian and tonight I have my Wii Jillian 2010 challenge to complete. So that will put me just over 3 hours of exercise so far this week.. Yea me:happy:

I also have to present a truth I realized last night.. I have sworn to not buy any new clothes until I am down a size. Well I couldn't hold out and really needed a new pair of jeans, as all I have I've had for like EVER!!! So I bought a pair from Ny and Company, my fave store, and the size 18 fit really nice, NO MUFFIN TOP, even a little baggy, but not ready for a 16. So here's the truth... I was most likely not a size 18 when I was 250+, I just stretched out my pants and smushed my big butt into them. This created an awful tire roll:sick: :sick:
But now all the clothes in my closet fit me, and nice!!!! I have packed away all of my really "BIG" clothes and feel really great about the way I look
I still have a journey, but I know God is here with me and l can accept who I am and where I'm at right now, not looking ahead to; "if I just lost the weight", "If I was just a smaller size"...

I have created great habits, that my children now follow and admire!!!!!
With God all things are possible, and I need to accept his time and not my own!!!!

Good Luck everyone with the weekend challenge!!!!
Happy weigh in tomorrow!!!!!!!!!!!:flowerforyou:

ourgang

Did 35 minutes running and 20 minutes of weight.

My biggest challenge is actually keeping up once I lose a little. For instance, i weigh and I am down a pound Then i think, now i can eat a little more and get stuck. Hard to keep motivated. Late night snacking is also a challenge.

kathleen

I agree!!!! I do the same thing!!! Why????????
I'm pretty good with the late night snacking, I try to do some kind of exercise at night which helps to curb my cravings and I go to bed early so I can get up to workout before work!!!

ourgang

Just to chime in too, Weekends suck for my eating habits. I usually do good at exercise at least one day and sometimes do get something in on both, but I drink and eat way too much....

Looking forward to this weekend's challenge...

I am very lucky when it comes to meals during the week. I religiously pack my breakfast and lunch for work. My husband is a chef and I love to cook so during the week we do plan all of meals so that we can feed our 4 kids and ourselves through our busy schedule. it is very rare that our dinner isn't planned.

actually tonight is:
chick breast, cut into small strips, it cooks much faster this way
it is currently in a low cal, low fat, light ceaser dressing for flavor!!!!

Wheat pasta for me and the kids, hubby still won't eat it:frown:
Maybe even sprinkle just a little cheese on top, but not too much
steamed brocc and carrots

Maybe a side of apple sause and cottage cheese.

dinner will be done in less that 20min's when we finally get home around 6 oclock and I will still have time to do Jillian!!!

Mande_G

Workouts: 4/5 done

Mande_G

...

Since the weekend begins tomorrow perhaps we can have a mini challenge specific for the weekend (Friday and Saturday) and another one that begins on Sunday. I was thinking that for the mini challenge we could have everyone think of their meals in advance for that day and not only log them in their food log but also post them in this thread so we can see what everyone plans to eat and if people need healthier options the group can offer suggestions. Then check in at the end of that day to let the group know if you stuck to your meal plan. Since everyone is looking to be held accountable posting your food in the actual thread may help. This would just be for Friday and Saturday (I know planning far in advance can be difficult)

...

I was also thinking that the challenge for the week could be no sweets for a week. I was on a previous thread where it was a challenge of no sweets til christmas and at the end of the day everyone would post their count (for example: chocolickkyss: 1 sweets: 0, which meant I went one day w/o indulging in sweets. If on day two I did have some type of sweet I would report chocolickkys: 1 sweets: 1 etc....)

...

I am totally up for these challenges! ESPECIALLY the no sweets for a week. I think that would be REALLY good for me.

sphinctress

May I join as well? I know it's a little late....
I will post a weight tomorrow.
Thanks!
: )

lisawest

May I join as well? I know it's a little late....
I will post a weight tomorrow.
Thanks!
: )

Welcome! It's never too late to join!

I'm up for the challenge for next week. Boy will it be a challenge! I was thinking as I read the post about, "No problem, I don't eat that many sweets." But then I looked at what I logged for lunch, chocolate pudding, and yesterday's snack, Dark Chocolate Dreams peanutbutter on chocolate rice cakes ( I think it'd be great on the caramel rice cakes too, and regular PB on chocolate rice cakes is like a PB cup ) May have to rethink some of my snack options! Although, I still have some Laughing Cow cheese left, so I may just live with that!

I'm going to even give the weekend challenge a try. Although, I do have to admit that I am at a slight advantage on that one. I learned long ago from Aunt Mary to plan meals well in advance. Now that we live in a town without a grocery store:noway: , it has become even more important. So I already have my meals planned out, mostly. I'm afraid there may be a change because my SIL is leaving to go back to college Sunday, and I think we're supposed to go out to dinner with her on Saturday:ohwell: But I can always adjust my other meals to take that one into account.

That's another challenge for me. Eating out. We do it SO infrequently (having no restaraunts in town either) that when we do, I have difficulty sticking to my plan. I think, "Well, it's only ONE day. It'll be ok, right?" While that's true, I always end up feeling guilty. Even when I put half or more of it in a togo box. I hate feeling guilty.:grumble:

debnu1

Don't feel guilty. This is a lifestyle change--You don't have to be 100% good all the time. If you were you would go crazy!!

I have been bad on the workouts this week. I just can't seem to get back in the routine of things now that DD is back in school. I have been eating good for the most part. Planning ahead really does make a huge difference!

Happy weigh in tomorrow. I am going to be good today so I can keep my weight down to hopefully less than I was this morning. That would make me very happy!!

Have agreat day!

Chocolickkyss

I'm glad everyone is at least willing to give the challenges a try. Some challenges may be harder than others and that's ok. Even if the challenge is covering something you don't struggle you can still participate and if you decide not to participate in the challenge that week, please continue posting and giving others support.

I'm already trying to figure out what I can eat tomorrow so that I can post my meals in the morning. I too tend to do a little better when the meal is planned ahead of time b/c I try harder to stick to the plan.

twt1999brd

I wish I could see results immediatley. I am going to the gym again tonight for the third day in a row, and all I can think about is how my rolls are pushing up over my jeans when I sit down. I wish they would go away, like, yesterday :laugh:

Chocolickkyss

I wish I could see results immediatley. I am going to the gym again tonight for the third day in a row, and all I can think about is how my rolls are pushing up over my jeans when I sit down. I wish they would go away, like, yesterday :laugh:

Believe me I understand what you mean. It would make life so much easier if that were the case especially since it seems like if I look at food I gain weight BUT since we know it takes alot of hard work and dedication DONT GIVE UP! You've made it to the gym and that's a great thing.

msh0530

I was planning to go swimming in an hour, but having a hard time talking myself into going back out into the bitter cold. We'll see which side of me wins, the want to get healthy side or the freezing to death side. Or maybe they can reach a compromise!