4 for 5 challenge *always open* week of Dec 28 week 1

missheidi
missheidi Posts: 465 Member
edited September 20 in Motivation and Support
Ok, this is a thread I was part of on My food diary a couple of years back. I can't pay for mfd right now, and I like mfp, so I thought I'd start it here.
Here's the deal: there are five goals:
1. log all food and drink
2. stay within calories
3. exercise 30 minutes
4. drink your water
5. do something for your mind. this can be spiritual, or just relaxing at home with your kiddos. whatever improves your spirit or mind.
6. you can have your own optional goal of your choosing, like an extra 15 min of exercise or something, but this does not count in the challenge.
The challenge starts every monday, please check in by sunday night for the next week. Every night, log onto the thread to report what you did that day. If you met at least 4 out of the 5 goals, you are still in the challenge. If you meet all five goals for three consecutive days, you earn a grace day to use when you flub. Each challenge member is responsible for keeping track of their own grace days. Grace days can be banked as well. If you are really on top of things, it is possible to earn two grace days a week.

If you mess up a day and don't have any grace days, just join us again on the next sunday night, but keep in touch on the thread.

if you have questions, you can message me.

Have fun, stay focused! (feel free to join at any time this week since i just got this posted.)

Replies

  • missheidi
    missheidi Posts: 465 Member
    Ok today I
    1. logged my food
    2. ate to lose
    3. got all my water
    4. worked out for an hour
    5. went swimming in the indoor pool at the y with the hubs and kiddos. fun, but exhausting.
  • j_g4ever
    j_g4ever Posts: 1,925 Member
    I can do this and it would keep me on track also......

    1. Logged my food
    2. Exercised for 30 mins
    3. Drank LOTS of water
    4. Did something for myself. I let my kids play while I relaxed and played on the computer.
  • debnu1
    debnu1 Posts: 1,568 Member
    I like this challenge!

    Today I
    1. logged my food
    2. ate to lose
    3. got all my water
    4. worked out for 30 min
    5. woke up early and had just me time

    This is exactly what I need, thanks for starting it! :flowerforyou:

    (j_g, I promise I am not following you :bigsmile: we must have the same taste in challenges)
  • vanillagirl18
    vanillagirl18 Posts: 35
    1. I logged all my food on here and on the biggest loser on the wii
    2. i am well within my calories (and that includes dinner out with friends! planning ahead is amazing! and having will power!)
    3. did 50 min of exercise
    4. drank my water and cut back on diet pop!
    5. prayed and read - and getting ready to read more!
  • jrbowers83
    jrbowers83 Posts: 282 Member
    I want in on the challenge.

    Today I,
    1. Logged all of my food
    2. Stayed under in calories, and also burned some extra so debating light snack of fruit or something
    3. Exercised for an hour and a half
    4. Drank all of my water
    5. Took a nap when the kids did
    6. Bonus: Did my strength training including 200 situps challenge

    I like this challenge because these are the areas that I want to focus on personally... and the "me" time is much needed... Umm, does therapy count BTW?
  • missheidi
    missheidi Posts: 465 Member
    wow! look at all our members already! I will try to make comments and such throughout the week, but it gets pretty crazy around here so it might not always happen.

    i'll take a moment to introduce myself. My name is Heidi, and I live in Kansas with my husband ken, and our two boys: Kristian is 5 and Tyler is two. I substitute teach three days a week sometimes more, and this semester I'm taking (gulp) 18 hours at the local college. I'm hoping to start the transition to teaching program this may, but that requires that I get a full time teaching job, and pretty much everyone is in a hiring freeze right now. so i might be subbing another year.
    Two years ago after Tyler was born I lost 45 pounds and I've kept it off, but i feel stuck right now. I am going to talk to a trainer at the y tomorrow about some goal setting and what I want to work toward now. It's lovely to see all of you!
  • debnu1
    debnu1 Posts: 1,568 Member
    My Tyler is 2 also. I have a girl, Hannah who is 7. I was a RN at a local hospital until just recently when I decided to stay home with my kids. I am also married my husband is a general contractor.

    Heidi, it seems that you are crazy busy! Congratulations on keeping the weight off and good luck with the job!

    I really like this challenge as it is going to keep me on my toes. I am not supposed to do any lower body exercise for another week so my exercise is going to have to be very creative. I have been doing upper body strength training M,W,F, or at least that has been my goal. It is hard for me to switch off days---I guess I am a creature of habit.

    deb
  • missheidi
    missheidi Posts: 465 Member
    jrbowers, therapy absolutely counts!
  • j_g4ever
    j_g4ever Posts: 1,925 Member
    I did the following today

    1. log all food and as of right now I'm at just above 1200 calories
    2. I have stayed within my calories
    3. I exercised for 33 mins. he he. I did 25 mins on the treadmill again and then did some ab work
    4. I drank LOTS of water today and actually my kids are drinking more water as I am drinking more water. I'm so happy for that.

    I haven't found time to myself yet however that should come later tonight when my husband and I sit down and watch a movie together.
  • debnu1
    debnu1 Posts: 1,568 Member
    Today I have

    Logged all my food
    Stayed within my cals
    Exercised for 30 mins, more consistent movement than exercise but I am counting it
    drank my allotment of water
    taking time for me right now!! and boy do I need it!
  • jrbowers83
    jrbowers83 Posts: 282 Member
    Well, since everyone is sharing... I'm a stay at home mom to two very energetic kids. Gavyn is 6, and Alycia just turned 1. I'm looking to start college in Jan. I decided to do the family thing first, so will have a lot of catching up to do! I want to teach also, Heidi. What grade level/subject are you interested in? I am going to work toward 4-8 Special Ed (it's the most in-demand here) but ultimately prefer working with younger kids (k-2 probably). I stay crazy busy with my kids, since my husband works long hours (14 hour days 4-5 days/week). Eating used to be hard for me because I'd just kind of graze all day like the kids. I started my weight loss journey this time because my dr. said I have high blood pressure and would need to go on meds if I didn't control it with diet. I loved having a diet to control my blood pressure that was planned out for me, but when that got boring I found MFP and the weight is steadily coming off. I've gone back and forth with my weight my whole life, was even anorexic as a teenager. So, finally learning the right way to eat is a challenge but I love it. I've lost 23 lbs. since I had my baby girl, and I'm looking to lose about 30 more. I go back to my dr. in January for a checkup and can't wait to see how I'm doing.

    So far still in the challenge. Today I...
    1. Logged all my food
    2. Stayed under on cals... a little too under actually
    3. Exercised for one hour
    4. Played in the SNOW with the kids (I live in TX, snow never happens, so this was a real treat!)
    5. working on last 2 glasses of water. I WILL meet this goal before bed
  • missheidi
    missheidi Posts: 465 Member
    hey ladies!
    today I
    1. logged everything
    2. stayed under calories(thank you exercise!)
    3. worked out for 55 minutes
    4. drank all my water.
    5. right now my son is asleep on my lap. i love that.

    i'm actually pretty ticked. i worked out hard for an hour yesterday and gained a pound and a half. i know it's probly water or something, but still.
  • debnu1
    debnu1 Posts: 1,568 Member
    Today I
    1. logged all my food
    2. stayed under cals, hard to believe though I should be hungry right?
    3. got all my water
    4. worked out for 30 min got up to 10 lb weights upper body. Cool!
    5. took the kids to princess and the frog then went and visited my mom, a fun relaxing day!

    Water weight really stinks in my opinion! I am sure I will be up tomorrow because of the movie popcorn I ate. Hope everyone did well today. Tomorrow is going to be interesting as I am heading to a party and don't know what will be there. I guess I will plan everything else out and see what happens. Have a great night!
  • j_g4ever
    j_g4ever Posts: 1,925 Member
    Alright here is what I did for the day.....

    1. Just got done logging all my food. I knew I was under because I woke up later so I had a late breakfast
    2. I'm actually way under may calories so I have to have a snack. I think maybe as a treat I will have something with chocolate
    3. Did cardio on the treadmill. I'm loving my treadmill. I ran for a little bit also. and got all 30 plus mins in.
    4. Have drank lots of water and that is it besides milk. :)
    5. Taking some time to myself as soon as the my daughter goes to bed. However we had fun today shopping.
  • missheidi
    missheidi Posts: 465 Member
    ok, so i logged everything and i was over, though only by 155 cals. so i counted my cleaning which i don't usually do. but we're organizing the basement and so it was up and down the stairs, blah blah blah. of course i was more hungry! anyway.

    1. logged
    2. ate under my calroies
    3. exercised for an hour plus cleaning the basement for four hours (i'm one big pile of owie.)
    4. i totally lost track of the water, i'm overdoing it bc of the water weight
    5. spent my giftcards at barnes and noble! and met with the trainer at the y. he worked up a new routine to get me unstuck.

    so, i earned a grace day yay! which i will use tomorrow since i'm going to a party. I will log up until dinner and the party. I'm also not specifically working out tomorrow, although more basement cleaning, etc. then on new years, i am going ot the y for a three hour workout marathon. it's a land class, a cycle class and a water class. i can't wait! (i think)

    you both are doing really well, i'm so proud of you! if you don't see me tomorrow, i'll be back friday.
  • debnu1
    debnu1 Posts: 1,568 Member
    I do believe I earned a grace day too! And I didn't think I could do it. I might just have to use it today! Hooray, that makes me feel a little less stressed... The week is looking so much brighter all of a sudden. I think I love earning grace days!:bigsmile:
  • jrbowers83
    jrbowers83 Posts: 282 Member
    I had a migraine last night so didn't get to log

    1. logged all my food
    2. Stayed under in calories (ever since I got the wii fit I haven't been able to eat ENOUGH calories. YIKES! 300-400 cal deficit everyday this week, can't wait to weigh in mon.)
    3. Exercised for over an hour
    4. my son stayed at his gma's so I put baby down for nap and read a book :smile:

    Didn't get my water in because of this darn headache. Went to bed early.

    Whoo. Just barely met the 4 of 5.
  • debnu1
    debnu1 Posts: 1,568 Member
    So very glad I had a grace day to use. I definitely didn't stay with in my cals or anything today. Tomorrow I will be better. I already am starting on a better foot!

    Happy New YEar!
  • missheidi
    missheidi Posts: 465 Member
    deb, earning grace days ROCKS. i used mine too. i really didn't do too bad yesterday, but i didn't exercise because i'm doing that three hour workout marathon at noon.
  • debnu1
    debnu1 Posts: 1,568 Member
    Wow a workout marathon! Sounds like fun!! I am going to do my 30 mins of upper body work this morning. It is good to feel strong and powerful. :bigsmile:

    I think I really like the grace days because it isn't like you can just have them, you have to earn them and you are accountable that way. This has been a wonderful idea Heidi, thanks for starting this challenge, I really needed it!

    :flowerforyou:
  • debnu1
    debnu1 Posts: 1,568 Member
    Today I
    1. logged all my food
    2. stayed under cals, barely and only because of exercise!
    3. got all my water
    4. worked out for 40 min
    5. Played on the computer while kids watched TV--I needed the break!

    Hope everyone had a successful day!
  • missheidi
    missheidi Posts: 465 Member
    wow i'm tired. it turned out to be two hours of exercise with about a 15 minute warmup. i did four 30 min classes: cycle, muscle pump, ultimate strength and cardio and water works. burned 1000 calories! but i'm really glad i don't do that every day.

    1. logged everything
    2. stayed way under calories
    3. got loads of water. i stopped counting after like, a gallon
    4. exercised like a demon
    5. tried a new recipe and got the kitchen all clean!

    I will post the new challenge tonight to allow everyone to rsvp. i wish there was a way we could have favorite posts, that's frustrating.
  • missheidi
    missheidi Posts: 465 Member
    i weighed in this morning, and the workout marathon did the trick. i'm back down to 160.4! YES!
  • debnu1
    debnu1 Posts: 1,568 Member
    Hooray, Congratulations!! I love it when the scale drops!

    I went to a breakfast this morning, thought I was being good and after I logged everything it has used up most of my day! AHHHH I can't believe I did that! I will have to be creative I guess for the rest of the day.
  • debnu1
    debnu1 Posts: 1,568 Member
    Here is the link to the next thread you started, Should we start logging there, or keep on here until MOnday?
    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/74314-4-for-5-challenge-always-open-week-of-jan-4-week-2?page=1#posts-1011057
  • debnu1
    debnu1 Posts: 1,568 Member
    I have to admit I have had an off day today--So I am out this week! :cry: I will be back in full force tomorrow. We all have slip ups, today just turned into a big one for me. I guess I will have to drink a ton of water tomorrow!!:drinker:
  • missheidi
    missheidi Posts: 465 Member
    i'm out too. got lazy and snacked too much. bleh. remember the new week starts monday, but try to log tomorrow even though we aren't in the challenge. weekend is the hardest for me.
  • debnu1
    debnu1 Posts: 1,568 Member
    I didn't really bother to track today, as my schedule was all messed up. Tomorrow is the day though. I will get it all figured out tonight and get back on track! I have been feeling very disorganized and my plan is to change that!!

    HAve a great night!
  • j_g4ever
    j_g4ever Posts: 1,925 Member
    I'm out for the week due to eating myself drunk. But I'm going to try again next week.
This discussion has been closed.

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