4th of July Challenge!! Please join me!

Welcome to all the new faces, it's great to have you here :flowerforyou:

Good job to everyone - both to those people who are kicking butt this week and especially to those who are struggling. Hanging in there through the hard times is what will make us successful in the end.

I'm having a rough couple of weeks as well. I felt like I was learning good habits and had things figured out, then wildfire season started (I'm a fire dispatcher) and I'm having to relearn everything. We're working 12-14 hour days, bye bye evening walks, and stress levels have gone up. So, today I'm making some changes - more water, no caffeine, and NO CHOCOLATE!! My coworker is under strict instructions to slap my hand if she sees it near the chocolate :laugh: I'm also going to refocus on where my calories are coming from and make sure I get in a good hour on the treadmill, even if it's at 11PM. I'm actually excited today. I feel like I'm starting a new phase of learning to integrate my job with my new healthier lifestyle. If this works it will be a huge step toward making these changes permanent.:bigsmile:

I hope you all have something in your lives today that leaves you excited or inspired. Cheers! :drinker:

Katie

3rd week c heck in 2 lbs down this week so I"m happy! 6 lbs since the start of the challenge. I can finally get into my size 16's! yay! Some fit perfect and some are still a bit snug so I have enough to last me for a while. Sure glad I kept them. Time to get rid of the 18's and 20's.

Everybody have a great week!

Starting weight: 211
Current weight: 185
Goal weight: 150

Hi all ,

I am checking in with my weigh in results I lost 2.2 lbs. this week and I am very happy with that!! I hope everyone has a wonderful week ahead.

Hello everyone! :flowerforyou:

It's been sooooo quiet in here! I hope that's because you are all out exercising and having fun wih your lives!
I'm doing a bit better, the UTI is receding, thank goopdness. The sciatica is still painful but I think I have a handle on this too, so today WAS better than yesterday and I intend tomorrow to be even better!

I'm doing better on my eating too, so my anxiety has almost gone. I haven't lost any weight yet but I'm sure that too will happen now.

I hope you are all doing GREAT.
Do drop in and post. We need each other's support!

Amalia

Glad to know that your feeling better and getting back on track . AWESOME!!! I am loving this challenge ....great motivator for me because I want to get to my goal by July 4th Thanks for creating this thread!!

Let's do this! My goals are mainly for working out and weekend eating.

1. Workout 5 days/week for 30 min.
2. Go for walks with the kids and dog, 3-5 days.
3. Drink 6-8 glasses of water, especially on the weekend.
4. Eat smaller portions at home.
5. Cook more meals (healthy of course).

I wanted to answer your question about why only weekend eating...

During the week, at work, I eat oatmeal with fiber every morning and a sensible lunch, from home. I have a healthy morning snack or an afternoon snack but rarely both. Dinners at home are harder. We go out to eat a lot or my portions at home are much bigger than they should be. The weekends are worse. I make breakfast of pancakes or toast, eggs, and bacon. We snack a lot and eat large portions. I really don't want the same ol' boring stuff I eat all week so I undulge on the weekend. I don't even think about it like I do at work. I am busy thinking about the kids, the hubby, the house, etc.

My other challenge to overcome is a workout schedule. I don't workout when hubby is home because he works nights and I hardly see him. I have to workout after the kids go to bed and not succumb to catching up on Tivo. Last night would have been a perfect start but (fill in the excuses!). I pledge to workout on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday!! See you Monday.

I wanted to answer your question about why only weekend eating...

During the week, at work, I eat oatmeal with fiber every morning and a sensible lunch, from home. I have a healthy morning snack or an afternoon snack but rarely both. Dinners at home are harder. We go out to eat a lot or my portions at home are much bigger than they should be. The weekends are worse. I make breakfast of pancakes or toast, eggs, and bacon. We snack a lot and eat large portions. I really don't want the same ol' boring stuff I eat all week so I undulge on the weekend. I don't even think about it like I do at work. I am busy thinking about the kids, the hubby, the house, etc.

My other challenge to overcome is a workout schedule. I don't workout when hubby is home because he works nights and I hardly see him. I have to workout after the kids go to bed and not succumb to catching up on Tivo. Last night would have been a perfect start but (fill in the excuses!). I pledge to workout on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday!! See you Monday.

It looks like you have identified some of the things that are keeping you from being successful, but now you have to make a plan to control your food intake and scheduling of exercise. I know you didn't ask for opinions, but I like to see people achieve success and for that reason, I am submitting the following:

I know it is not easy to care for a family and deal with a spouse's non-traditional work scheduled, but in order to have a consistent program that will result in weight loss, I recommend you spread your workouts in throughout the week. If you can't do some cardio every day, at least try for every other. You can go ahead and do your Fri, Sat and Sun, but you need to add a Tues and a Thurs, or at a minimum, a Wed time for exercise so you don't lose all the ground you might gain by your weekend workouts. If you like to watch tv you have recorded, consider getting a recumbant exercise bike, a treadmill, or an elliptical to do cardio while you are watching tv. I have a Gazelle that I use for that purpose, and it is very handy when I can't get outside to walk.

On weekends, where the food is concerned, I would eliminate making the pancakes (if you don't MAKE them, you can't EAT them),and stick to toast and eggs. If you can't pass on the bacon completely, limit yourself to one piece. Add fresh fruit to the breakfast menu. Tomatoes w/low-fat cottage cheese is something else I often have at breakfast, but be aware that cottage cheese can have a relatively high sodium content, so factor that in, as well. Fruit can work well w/cottage cheese, also.

If anyone in your family whines about no pancakes, suggest it is time THEY learned how to make pancakes for themselves. If they REALLY want them that badly, they will take some instruction. Look at the foods that you know your family does like. Many recipes can be "leaned" by substituting ingredients.

As for the "snacks"--I am betting you are the shopper in the family, so phase in fresh fruit and veggies for snacking. If portion control is an issue, figure out portions of veggies--IE >baby carrots--and make them up ahead so you can grab one when you feel the munchies coming on. Discover hummus. It is fantastic as a dip for carrots and other raw vegetables. If you like creamy dips, discover the wonders of low fat plain yogurt in place of mayo or sour cream. If you gotta have sour cream, get the low fat, or fat free variety.

If you don't make a big production out of it, but start leading by example, you may find that your family is going to be eating a lot healthier than before and they won't mind it a bit. There will probably be things they want to have that are simply not realistic for you except as an occasional indulgence, but that is life.

Temptation is everywhere, one has to make a plan to deal with it and stick to the plan. This is the essence of what I have done for the past 13 months, and my ticker shows the result. I still have a ways to go, but I am far better off than if I had continued to eat whatever, whenever, and however much I wanted to. That philosophy got me on BP meds and to a weight I don't ever want to reach again!! I got rid of the BP meds in March, I am happy to report.

Good luck.

Barb