5 Pounds A Month March 2010 Challenge

JABehler

Sonia, thyroid problems are common for us women. I've been on Thyroid meds. for over 10 yrs. now. Good luck with test results, keep us posted.
I did not weigh in today. My DIL has a dial scale and a hard one to read. I did come home today after being at our son's house for over a week babysitting the grandaughter. What a lot of work. I have a renewed admiration for all you young moms with little ones. Here's to you. :drinker: :drinker:
The kids came home on Tues. pm and my calorie watching went right down the tubes. BUT I did enjoy my time with the family. We (hubby and I) came home today so tomorrow is a new day. I will weight tomorrow and let you all know how it went. Even if the scales don't weigh in my favor I am pleased to say I did drop a pant size. Bought a new pair of crops from Cold Water Creek for the spring. WooHoo.:bigsmile:
Jacque

phyljen

Good Morning! Saturday morning here in Cairo and just got back from my BIG jog. I got a little carried away this morning and instead of my 100 minute jog jog jog, I kept going and ran for 2 HOURS! I had to fight off a pack of dogs at one point and it scared me to death! I hate dogs that act like they want to eat me alive!! STREET DOGS!!! But, Boy am I feeling good now sitting here on my couch drinking lemon water and eating grapefruits!!! I am going to a luncheon today later on and then I have book club and a dinner at my house tonight so I think I have burned off the calories that I am going to eat later today.
Yesterday when I put on my size 12 jeans that I bought last summer they were baggy as heck and I had to keep pulling them up at the waist. That was kind of a shock to me. BUT a good kind of shock.
THANKS to everyone that has reported in this week. I love hearing all about your ups and downs and concerns and activities. SO keep those stories coming. GOOD LUCK on this almost last week of March. Jacque good to hear that you survived the baby sitting.
Congratulations to everyone that has lost weight and inches and just for being healthy and positive! Terri as always you are such a cheerleader for everyone. YOU ROCK!!!
Still Missing hearing from Jenn. Hope that you check in soon.
Phyljen

TCASMEY

Hi everyone,

I am a bit late but heres my weigh in for today!

SW: 145 GW: 120
Feb 2010: 140
March 5: 138
March 12: 140
March 19 140

I am frusterated again for the lack of weight loss but I just had a blood test and my dr called me to go over some results. It may be throid but I really hope its not! The weights not budging and I gain and lose the same 2 pounds. I will definitely work out harder and need to increase my workouts I think and I will be back next week with hopefully some good news!

Hope your tests go well. I know the frustration of losing and gaining the same 2 pounds again and again. Hang in there. Keep us posted!

TCASMEY

March 5th 207.3
March 12th 206.4
March 19th 204.3
Hurrah!!!! Down 2.1!!!!!

:drinker: :drinker: :drinker: :drinker: That is so awesome!

TCASMEY

Good Morning! Saturday morning here in Cairo and just got back from my BIG jog. I got a little carried away this morning and instead of my 100 minute jog jog jog, I kept going and ran for 2 HOURS! I had to fight off a pack of dogs at one point and it scared me to death! I hate dogs that act like they want to eat me alive!! STREET DOGS!!! But, Boy am I feeling good now sitting here on my couch drinking lemon water and eating grapefruits!!! I am going to a luncheon today later on and then I have book club and a dinner at my house tonight so I think I have burned off the calories that I am going to eat later today.
Yesterday when I put on my size 12 jeans that I bought last summer they were baggy as heck and I had to keep pulling them up at the waist. That was kind of a shock to me. BUT a good kind of shock.
THANKS to everyone that has reported in this week. I love hearing all about your ups and downs and concerns and activities. SO keep those stories coming. GOOD LUCK on this almost last week of March. Jacque good to hear that you survived the baby sitting.
Congratulations to everyone that has lost weight and inches and just for being healthy and positive! Terri as always you are such a cheerleader for everyone. YOU ROCK!!!
Still Missing hearing from Jenn. Hope that you check in soon.
Phyljen

2 hour run that is amazing. I can only walk that long. I am taking today and tomorrow off from working out. My legs and ankles are still sore. May have to get it checked out if it does not go away. My daughter's recital is today and my parents are coming into town for that. I suppose I should go clean the house a bit before they arrive.

Hope everyone has a great day.

Be healthy!

Terri

JABehler

Good job, Phyllis. Wow running! I can only walk. I need to beef it up, maybe.
Weighed in this am. I neither gained nor lost so that is a good sign. Today is the first day of spring so I'm hoping to "bear a new leaf:.
I, also, am getting ready for book club here. It is on Monday nite though, and only dessert and wine. Got to go shopping and start doing some cleaning. LOL
I'm looking forward to this week except for an eye exam on Wed. I hate those things.
Jacque

kalmf

Love the new picture Phyljen! I lived in India when I was a child and the Pariah dogs made every one crazy. I got to know them, though and I loved them all. But when you're running I guess you look like prey to them - a little scary.

So the half pound loss that I had been having a dysfunctional relationship with has officially disappeared and I had no loss or gain this week.

I'm off on a field trip (which should be cool - it's to a plant grower that specializes in native plants) and then this afternoon I am actually going to shape up the vegetable garden and get some seed going. Go veggies, go!

DixonKels

Hey everyone! Thanks for all the well wishes for my puppy He is slowly starting to recover, this week has just been crazy because we have been to the vet everyday to be on IV's or just being monitored. Sorry I haven't checked in all week! I will do my official weigh in Monday morning because we have another vet appt tmrw morning. I'm hoping this stressful week hasn't caused too much damage! Congrats to everyone on being losers!!

sonia2003

Thank you Jacque and Terri for your support! I have a dial scale and I was thinking of buying a digital scale so I can atleast see 0.5 increments! I know its not much but any thing at all, even 0.5 if I see that go down will give me motivation!

I have my drs appt on Tuesday so I hope all goes well! I am worried a bit but hopefully itts nothing major. I dont want it to be a thyriod problem but that is what I was tested for. If it is though, I might have my answer of why I am struggling so much with my weight!

Regardless, I am going to start up again tomorrow and run run run, and work out as much as I can, while eating as clean as I can and hopefully, the weight should come off!

aprildh

Man I am bummed.
I had huge hopes for March - at this point. I would just love to break 200 at this point. It is so so evil. Ugh 200.
It will be okay. Need to get back on track - heres my weigh in...

3/1/2010: 203.8
3/5/2019: 196.8 (this doesn't seem quite right...)
3/12/2010: 202
3/19/2010: 201.6

slowly but surely!

I understand exactly. I have been hanging around 203 - 202 for almost 2 months!!! I am working out well so I think right now my body is just holding steady gaining muscle. I have high hopes that any day now I will finally break that wall down. I know you will too. I had a friend tell me a couple of months back that she worked out for 2 1/2 months and saw no change in her clothing and then all of a sudden she woke up one morning and everything was too big! Good luck getting back on track.
April

phyljen

Sonia,
Great Attitude! You will lose eventually. Hang in there. I be cheering that you have good news from your test results. Weight is a very weird thing. Some times you think that you are doing everything and that dang scale just doesn't show the right number!! I am wishing to get my own digital scales too. Maybe this summer I can buy one when I am in the states. I have not seen any over here but they may exist., I just have not really been out shopping for them.

April Are you eating all your exercise calories? I really believe in that. I had never heard of that before MFP. Now I swear by it.
I did so many exercises today that I could eat about anything that I wanted. Well not anything. but I swam an hour this morning and then did aerobics after school for an hour. I was so tired during Aerobics that I about fell on the floor. I think that I have never sweat so much in aerobics since I started going. anyway. keep your head up. and spirits and know that I am here for you. Phyllis

TwentyTen

Well, I am a little disappointed. No loss this week again. It seems , I am in a pattern of seeing a loss only every other week. What is up with that?? I guess I should be happy that it least it isn't up, and there is still time in the month to get there.
Started at 174.4 , CW 171.2 . I do believe the immense stress at work may be hampering my progress.
I desperately want to break that 170 mark by months end!
So, I will be as diligent as possible this week, maybe exercise every night without skipping, despite the extra long work days.

10 days left everyone. Lets get there!!

TCASMEY

Good morning everyone! Hope everyone had a great weekend!

We are on the final push for our 5 pounds this month! I thought I would share some things over the next few days that are in the April issue of Runner's World. It is from and article call the "INCREDIBLE WEIGHT LOSS MYTHS EXPOSED. Read the surprising truth about 14 popular diet strategies that just don't work-and fine out which ones will actually help you take the next BIG step towards slimming down for good.

The myth EXERCISE IN THE FAT-BURNING ZONE

The TRUTH....The "fat burning zone" lies between 50 and 70 percent of your maximum heart rate. When you exercise at this low intensity your body draws energy from fat. As your heart rate goes up, more energy comes carbs. So it seems logical that to lose fat you should keep your heart rate low, says Jason Karp Ph.D., owner of Run-coachjason.com. But that's not the case.
"Running at higher intensities causes you to burn a lower percentage of fat calories in favor of carbs," says Karp, "but you use more total calories." And that's the key to slimming down. Plus since you torch more total calories, the absolute amount of fat burned actually increases too. So it pays to pick up the pace.

Or course, lower intensity exercise still has its place. Long slow runs build aerobic fitness and endurance. But to kick start a pokey metabolism, you need intensity. Karp suggests interval training (condensed runs that mix in intense efforts with recovery) because studies have found these workouts burn more calories during and after exercise. It also cuts down on boredom which makes it more likely you'll stick with your programs"

Remember this magazine is geared towards runners, but if you do not run you can do intervals while walking, or biking or on the elipse. After warm-up push yourself hard for a minute or two then go at a slower pace then push yourself keep this going during your whole work-out and then do your cool down.

Have a healthy day!

Terri

DixonKels

Good morning all! I am finally checking in for my weigh in that I missed on Friday! I am so happy (and surprised!) to say that even though this stressful week of not eating healthy and not making it to the gym that I have not gained! I lost .2 lbs. Not much, but I'll take it!! Here's my stats....

3/5: 228.2
3/12: 226.6
3/22: 226.4

I have until next Wednesday to get those last 3 for the month off!!

kalmf

Thanks for the article Terri, and Kelsey- I'm so glad your pup is on the mend. The annoying thing I have discovered about our pets is that whenever we would come into some bonus cash, one of them would get sick. So now we make sure that we don't mention such things around them. I think it's helping.

So I guess now's the time to make a big push on the exercise. Phyljen you have inspired me. I have my last final today and then a week and a half off till next quarter, so I'm going to make a commitment to 60 minutes a day.

There - I've said it.

phyljen

KARINF-
I am happy that I inspired you and shocked too. I never thought that I could be someone to inspire another to be excited or motivated to exercise. thanks for the comment. It made my day. Thanks

KELSEY- way to go .02. It's a loss RIGHT!!! Celebrate every quarter or eight of a pound down the drain! that is what I do. A no gain is a WIN! :flowerforyou:

TERRI- Thanks for the article on running. I need to remember to do those little spurts of energy every once in a while and in the pool as well instead of just getting comfortable going along at the same speed. I tried this morning in my swim to add a little more GUSTO and kick up some water as I went back and forth in the pool. I also varied the strokes so that I used different muscles and kept them guessing. :happy:

JENN- WHERE ARE YOU?? I am getting worried!:indifferent:

o.k. off to faculty meeting now. Phyljen TWO more days until SPRING BREAK!!! YES!!!!::bigsmile:
I may be going to the beach if I get my way!!!:laugh:

rjadams

So I walk on my treadmill 5 days a week for 60 minutes. I do a lot of incline walking and I keep the pace around 3.8, I have been doing a little jogging in place with Wii so yesterday I tried jogging at a 5.0 on the treadmill. I was able to jog for a full 3 minutes. It may not seem like much to runners but for someone who couldn't job more than 90 seconds before it was a huge success for me. I am hoping that if I keep trying I will get up to a 5 minute jog in a couple of weeks. Just wanted to share.

phyljen

RJ - Cogratulations!!!:flowerforyou: :flowerforyou: Keep building up. I was not a runner or a jogger either. I walked the track for years. don't have a wii or get on machines but just walk outside or on the track. I have been working up to a jog run and now I can just run and run ( SLOWLY) but it is running RIGHT and I know you can get there too. just take baby steps and enjoy the runs. short or long. Phyljen

JABehler

Good morning everyone! Hope everyone had a great weekend!

We are on the final push for our 5 pounds this month! I thought I would share some things over the next few days that are in the April issue of Runner's World. It is from and article call the "INCREDIBLE WEIGHT LOSS MYTHS EXPOSED. Read the surprising truth about 14 popular diet strategies that just don't work-and fine out which ones will actually help you take the next BIG step towards slimming down for good.

The myth EXERCISE IN THE FAT-BURNING ZONE

The TRUTH....The "fat burning zone" lies between 50 and 70 percent of your maximum heart rate. When you exercise at this low intensity your body draws energy from fat. As your heart rate goes up, more energy comes carbs. So it seems logical that to lose fat you should keep your heart rate low, says Jason Karp Ph.D., owner of Run-coachjason.com. But that's not the case.
"Running at higher intensities causes you to burn a lower percentage of fat calories in favor of carbs," says Karp, "but you use more total calories." And that's the key to slimming down. Plus since you torch more total calories, the absolute amount of fat burned actually increases too. So it pays to pick up the pace.

Or course, lower intensity exercise still has its place. Long slow runs build aerobic fitness and endurance. But to kick start a pokey metabolism, you need intensity. Karp suggests interval training (condensed runs that mix in intense efforts with recovery) because studies have found these workouts burn more calories during and after exercise. It also cuts down on boredom which makes it more likely you'll stick with your programs"

Remember this magazine is geared towards runners, but if you do not run you can do intervals while walking, or biking or on the elipse. After warm-up push yourself hard for a minute or two then go at a slower pace then push yourself keep this going during your whole work-out and then do your cool down.

Have a healthy day!

Terri

Hi all, there is an article about interval walking in the newest issue of Prevention Magazine. I'll need to get a timer that I can carry and hear while out walking for me. I don't have a treadmill to monitor times.
Good luck all on "push week". Hope we all make goal.
Jacque

TCASMEY

Good morning all! And good evening Phyljen, I think it is evening there as I type this. This week is actually going quite quickly. I need to really be careful today. My 10 year has been having trouble sleeping, and last night he had me up over 2 hours. I know from past experience that I tend to munch mindlessly when I am tired. Last night was the worst night of the week but he has had me up every night this week. This usually happens with him when he is stressed about something. He keeps telling me everything is fine he is just so excited about spring break which starts on Friday. The kids get to go to grandpa and grandma's farm from next Wednesday until Easter. They love the farm so I hope that is what is going on, but I am really tired today.

As soon as it warms up I plan on getting out the stroller and going for a walk with the kids. Getting outside and staying busy are my goals for today.

Have a healthy day!

kalmf

Okay. I spent a good 4 hours yesterday hauling bags of compost and building vegetable boxes, so that counts for my hour. Today I missed yoga, but I'm hiking this afternoon. I still need a half hour of something more serious today.

Terri, I know what you mean. It's hard to maintain balance when you're completely out of balance and sleep-deprived. Hopefully the week with them gone will help you get back on track.

I am going to have to be really careful. My 16 year old (with brain impairment, attachment disorder, autism, etc.) is coming home from residential treatment tomorrow for ten days, and will be coming back to live in a couple of weeks. (Pardon my venting here) I am scared ****less. The school district is studiously ignoring me. I've been on the phone all morning with therapists, attorneys, doctors, etc. I've been working on getting a solid plan for the last six months, and here I am, days away and nothing is together. Things were really awful last year, I could never have imagined sending my child away, but it was not safe for anyone. He's made some improvement, but it could all go down hill really fast. We've seen it on past visits.

I'm trying to be positive, and I'm trying to just move forward step by step, but my husband and I are both crazed with panic. At sixteen we don't have a lot of time left to get him the right treatment, so we feel an enormous amount of pressure.

Anyway, thanks for letting me vent. It will be even more important to eat clean and get the exercise in during this period.

Karin

kimberlysearcy

Hello,

I joined this site on yesterday. I currently weigh 185 and hope to be 180 by April 15th...I am starting off with small goals and hoping for better results. I plan to weigh in every Monday, so for now my ticker say 0 lbs lost, but I hope to have good news on Monday, March 29. I browsed through the posts and it was good to see that there are women around my size/weight here. I look forward to the support and to sharing stories and ideas.

Kimmie

phyljen

Welcome Kimmie! you have joined the greatest group of supportive people out there so give yourself a pat on the back!

Karin- I feel your concerns and anxiety for having your son back with you. I know you are strong and will be able to do what you have to do to make life as smooth as possible. You are such a connected person. I feel in all your posts that you are really grounded and all your energy used to work in the garden and out doors will surely lift your spirits and keep you sane. I would love to see all your vegetable boxes. Sounds very interesting. Do you have little space for planting and so that is why you make the veggie boxes? or do you put them out doors to make better crops? I grew up on a farm and so we had unlimited space to grow and always had a huge garden plus all the crops in the field. Oh those days of hoeing and weeding the sugar beets. I have good and bad memories at the same time. It was how I earned my summer money as a child to buy school clothes, or should I say to buy fabric to sew my school clothes.

Terri- for some reason I had forgotten that you had a 10 year old son. Nice to have the reminder. I for some reason I just imagine you with all the little kids that you tend. I have a 30 year old son that moved back to Egypt and lives with us too. He is going to the Canadian University trying to finally finish his degree. He was in the states for years and had a great time messing around. Now it he finally decided that he should settle down and really get his degree. We are happy that he is finally trying to finish up and it is good to have him back with us too. but our empty nest that we used to enjoy has bee invaded. My daughter moved back a few years ago too and is getting her masters degree. She got married so she is not with us but we see her a lot and that is good too.

I guess it is time to vent and speak up about our lives today. Interesting huh?

Jacque_ How is everything with your husband? I think you are a saint to be such a great care giver!

Well I need to go pop some pop corn and have a snack. I need to eat a few more calories today. LOL Phyllis

kalmf

Thanks for support, PhylJen. thirty sounds about right for settling down! I do my vegetables in boxes because all the soil in the LA area tests positive for heavy metals from the cars. It's annoying initially, but once they're done I only have to top them off with compost and they're good to go. Also there's no real weeding involved, and the soil has such great texture it's no effort.

Today I am sure that some diabolic astrological event was happening because it seemed everything I touched turned into a pile of doo-doo. Internet and applications crashing - phones self-destructing -

So I gave myself a mental health day off before I have to reconstruct my final research paper which got deleted somehow in all of it. I'll tell ya.... tomorrow is another day, tomorrow is another day..:sad:

Eating is good so far, exercise not so much but the day's not over.

nisijam5

Hi,

Just got back from Mexico. Not going to weigh in tomorrow 'cause I now that I am holding water...nice pitting edema in my legs...hope to pull off a miracle by the 31st...if not, I'll just have to start fresh on the 1st

nisijam5

I am going to have to be really careful. My 16 year old (with brain impairment, attachment disorder, autism, etc.) is coming home from residential treatment tomorrow for ten days, and will be coming back to live in a couple of weeks. (Pardon my venting here) I am scared ****less. The school district is studiously ignoring me. I've been on the phone all morning with therapists, attorneys, doctors, etc. I've been working on getting a solid plan for the last six months, and here I am, days away and nothing is together. Things were really awful last year, I could never have imagined sending my child away, but it was not safe for anyone. He's made some improvement, but it could all go down hill really fast. We've seen it on past visits.
Karin

Don't know if it helps to have a mental health case manager from the county...they are really good about co-ordinating services betweens MD's, schools and home care...I wish you the best of luck...I know from personal experience how scary it can be...It's imperative to have services set-up before he comes home or you could be setting yourself up for disaster

Lastly, have a crisis number where someone will come to the house for a emergency home visit if things start to escalate

If you need to bounce some ideas past me...private email me...I'm also a nurse

kalmf

Kim, thanks a million.

My son came home, and today was a good day - a really, really good day.

phyljen

Good Morning on this beautiful Friday.
I'll go ahead and report in. I weighed yesterday at school on the nurses scales. ( those like in a doctors office ) Was happy to see another pound melt away. so here are my stats.
SW 159
3/1 - 150.5
3/5 - 149!
3/12 - 147
3/19 - 146
3/26 - 145

Three cheers are in order. :laugh:
I am hyped up for the 10 days off for SPRING BREAK. It is much neede that is for sure. I hope to keep up the routines of exercise and eating healthy even though my schedule will be dramatically changed from the routines of daily work at school. change is always hard but I THINK I can do it with all of your "helps and encouragements and motivations !"

Good luck everyone and may your scales show lower numbers too! Phyljen

TCASMEY

Good morning everyone. Sorry I have not been here much lately. I usually play around with this sight after my nap time workout, but with the new baby in my care I am pretty busy. He comes at a time when I can still get a 45-60 minute walk on the treadmill or bike ride on the stationary, but then I get pretty busy with him.

This mornings weigh in was a surprise. I have had a hectic week and not much sleep, and I know I have been munching on things I should avoid, ( malted milk eggs I bought for Easter Treats for my Sunday School class) but there was still some loss.

March 1st weight 181
March 5th weight 178
March 12th weight 177
March 19 weight 177
March 26 weight 176:happy:

Time to go make lunches for the kids. Last time for a week. :bigsmile: I get tired of getting up extra early to get their lunches packed. In the summer I use that time to go for a walk, but right now it is still dark and will be for another hour. And it is 24 degrees and windy. Yesterday was worse. But they are talking about hitting 70 next week.

Have a healthy day.

Terri

TCASMEY

Good Morning on this beautiful Friday.
I'll go ahead and report in. I weighed yesterday at school on the nurses scales. ( those like in a doctors office ) Was happy to see another pound melt away. so here are my stats.
SW 159
3/1 - 150.5
3/5 - 149!
3/12 - 147
3/19 - 146
3/26 - 145

Three cheers are in order. :laugh:
I am hyped up for the 10 days off for SPRING BREAK. It is much neede that is for sure. I hope to keep up the routines of exercise and eating healthy even though my schedule will be dramatically changed from the routines of daily work at school. change is always hard but I THINK I can do it with all of your "helps and encouragements and motivations !"

Good luck everyone and may your scales show lower numbers too! Phyljen

:drinker: :drinker: :drinker: Way to go! Another pound closer to your goal!:flowerforyou: :flowerforyou: