Let's get a little healthy/happy competition going!?

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joliezolie
joliezolie Posts: 19
in Motivation and Support
I need to drop 30/40lbs ... It's not a huge amount but damn it's taking me forever! Up an down, up and down.... I haven't tried any of these challenges that I see people do, maybe it could help? Couldn't hurt.

I was thinking every Friday we check in, share our SUCCESSES, and how we are doing it.

Let's start on the 24th, and check back next Friday?

I don't think it matters how much you have to lose, be it 5-500lbs lets just push each other!

:wink:
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Replies

  • melissamarah
    melissamarah Posts: 168 Member
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    Hi! I've never done a challenge before, but I'm just starting over again.

    I did WW back in 2009, and it worked really well for me, mainly because I became friends with the people at the meetings. We all cheered each other on, and I think that helped us all stay on track.

    My name's Melissa, I've got around 60 lbs (not completely sure what my goal weight will be) to lose. I'm married and live in LA. I'm also a big tomboy.
  • Nana_Anne
    Nana_Anne Posts: 179 Member
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    Hi. I tend to loose weight more when in a group. I would love to be a part. I regained 30 pounds slowly over the last year. I am under a lot of stress and I am learning that even around friends and family I need to pay attention. My doctors want me at 145 so I have 62 pounds to loose. WOW! I just calculated and it sounds overwhelming. I know a little at a time will ad up.
  • kshadows
    kshadows Posts: 1,315 Member
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    I'd love to! I am hanging onto about 40 pounds of extra weight from having a baby...over a year ago SMH. Count me in!
  • joliezolie
    joliezolie Posts: 19
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    Alright! This is great! I'm new to the whole forum posting process, so bare with me...

    Tomorrow is our first official day, so let's weigh in then and discuss our strategies!

    Let the GAMES BEGIN!
  • Betty_Rubble
    Betty_Rubble Posts: 117 Member
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    OK, here it goes:
    I'm 156.6 this morning, but can also tell I'm pretty bloated. I was 155.2 earlier this week.
    Stats: 37 years old, 5'5", natural waistline is 28.25", bellybutton is about 30", hips are 39.25". I'm a size 10 right now, would love to be a size 6. I used to be pretty in shape and was a "lean machine" but slacked over the past year and a half two years or so.

    Strategies - staying on track with healthy food choices, the amount of food, getting exercise most days of the week and staying away from alcohol (alcohol is my #1 diet wrecker!!!).

    Exercises are strength training and cardio.
    M,W,F - lower body strength training:
    Lunges 15x3, 10 and 15lb hand weights
    Squats 15x3, 10 and 15lb hand weights
    Wide Squats 15x3, 15lb hand weights
    Dead Lifts, 15x 3, 30 pound barbell
    Pushups 12 x 3
    Bicep Curls 12x3, 10 pound hand weights
    Overhead Press 12x 3, 10 pound hand weights
    Then I get on the treadmill for at least 30 minutes and do incline intervals, 4mph steady pace, vary the incline from 5% to between 8 and 10% usually every minute.

    T,Th,S - Abs and back
    Leg Lifts/Press, 15x4
    Bicycle, 15x4
    Crunches on exercise ball, 15x4
    Oblique crunches on exercise ball 15x4
    Extensions raising both chest and legs, 15x3
    Alternate extensions raising one shoulder/part of chest and opposite leg, 15x3
    I try to get on the treadmill for 30 minutes after doing this also, for a "lighter" cardio session, but sometimes have rubber legs from the previous night's leg session.

    Let's hear from everyone else!
  • kshadows
    kshadows Posts: 1,315 Member
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    Weigh in: 170.0 lbs
    Height 5'5.5 inches
    24 years old, 2 children.

    After my first, I was 5 lbs under prepregnancy weight (125 by the time he was a year old). I quit smoking and gained 30 lbs. I lost all 30 lbs before my wedding in May 2011, by playing Kinect Dance Central and eating well. I got pregnant and had a daughter and am now still 40 lbs over my prepregnancy weight and she is almost 15 months old so it's time to get to work!!

    My "normal" size was 6 or 8 pants, M shirt, 6 or 8 dress.
    Current size: 13/14 pants, XL shirt, I haven't worn a dress and don't want to.

    Plan: Eat healthy but not too restricted. Exercise more frequently. CUT DOWN nighttime snacking (this is my downfall) and replace with healthier snack choices.

    Exercise:
    Couch to 5K: Tues, Thur & Sat. ONLY on days when the temperature is >20 degrees (not for the next week at least)

    Roller blading: Fridays- 70-90 minutes

    I'm considering getting the Focus T-25 workout plan so I can do something at home when it's too cold to run.
  • joliezolie
    joliezolie Posts: 19
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    Weigh in: 190.0 lbs
    Height 5'6.5
    37 years old with one 16 yr old bum of a son :wink:

    My quick story is that I once weighed 275 lbs, lost it in part because I was in my 20's and metabolism was a little more existent than it is today. I then moved to Spain and lived there for a good long while. Barcelona is a walking city, and my diet was SO healthy! Food was always fresh.... I could even indulge in carbs! Sigh. My thinnest was 160 and I looked and felt great. In the time I was afforded a tummy tuck aswell ... A dream come true right!?
    Well life has brought me back to the US, and in the span of four years I have gained a lot of weight. It's a lot of emotional eating, and then of course life is just different here, driving everywhere, and good old American quality and QUANTITY food.
    My current pant size is between 14/16 tops are XL ... Dresses? No thanks!
    I'd be stoked to get down to a 10, and m/l top.

    I have been battling with balance, and what I am attempting these days is Intermittent Fasting, plus exercise.
    Here is a link to get a good idea how the fasting works :
    http://www.nerdfitness.com/blog/2013/08/06/a-beginners-guide-to-intermittent-fasting/
    I believe that with enough practice, IF could really be a good and healthy way to control the beast, be a game changer, and become a life long habit. So far so good, 4 days in and I'm not starving and I am losing weight.

    It's always been a dream to get into strength training and body building, I'm a solid girl, and want to get cut more than I want to get thin. I have looked into crossfit but it's costly, so I have decided to join the equivalent class at my current gym, and start getting real with fitness.
    However I'm afraid of failing, and dropping dead on the gym floor... That's where you all come in! :happy:

    My diet goes like this:
    Monday: NO food just juice... Or if I must eat, raw unseasoned veggies.
    Tuesday: No food until 2pm (I eat what I want, low cal, low carb. Eventually I would like to eat primarily Paleo/clean) until 8pm.
    *i am fasting 16 hrs, most of which I sleep anyway!
    Wednesday : 2-8pm eating
    Thursday: 2-8pm eating
    Friday: 2-10pm eating
    Saturday : 2-10pm
    Sunday: FREE DAY! YAY!

    So sometimes life gets in the way, for example last night my yoga class ended at 8:30pm therefore I ate dinner later than I was supposed to. So today I don't start eating until 4pm. If I am dying for something, a few almonds or celery, just to satisfy the desire to crunch something up. I drink gallons of water and coffee (light milk).

    Betty_Rubble - that work out plan is BEAST! I am going to print it out and take it with me to the gym!

    Kshadows - is rollerblading super hard to start? I get intimidated while looking at skate. Any suggestions for a newbie?
  • shmulyeng
    shmulyeng Posts: 472 Member
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    Feel free to join our April Fools Challenge.

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/groups/home/18143-2014-april-fool-challenge

    We're 3 weeks in but it's never too late to join.
  • kshadows
    kshadows Posts: 1,315 Member
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    Wow it must take some serious will power for your fasting plan!! I am hypoglycemic so I can't go more than a few hours without eating or I get sick and shaky. I LOVE roller blading so much!! We have a skating rink near me and just for giggles one night, a friend and I decided to go and we rented skates. After about a half hour I realized how much I was working my hips, thighs, lower back and ankles and I realized it was an awesome workout so we decided to start going weekly... I bought my roller blades after 2 weeks and it's an amazing difference from rental skates. I was a little slow and unsteady at first but if you just take your time, you'll get it in no time at all. I am learning to "bounce skate" now which basically looks like dancing and skating at the same time! I haven't fallen down in months and I still lose my balance sometimes but I'm impressed with how well I do. I really wish I could go more than once a week but that's all the rink is open.

    Good luck, I'm excited to have some companions on this journey... I am super motivated to at least look decent when we go on vacation in August!
  • Betty_Rubble
    Betty_Rubble Posts: 117 Member
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    I am also (recently diagnosed) hypothyroid - Hashimoto's style, and have a host of other hormonal crap going on right now. I don't blame this for my weight gain - I basically got lazy, lost focus, and had fun having drinks (too many) on the weekends. Alcohol is my devil!

    My favorite sayings for this are: "Be like Nike and Just Do It" and "Ain't nothing to it but to do it" (which is a saying we used to say in the Army, almost 20 years ago).

    joliezolie - see sayings above about the weights :). I love it and hope to be able to build up to doing more strength and less cardio. I also didn't drive for the longest time, but started a new job that is a half hour drive away.

    kshadows - I have a friend who is also doing C25K and is doing really well on it. I can't do workout DVDs (or rollerblade) - I am probably the most uncoordinated person on earth!


    When I was at my peak fitness, I had the coveted 6 pack, and legs like an animal! I did NO cardio - but did a ton of weight training. I didn't do the heavy lifts, but squatted regular and wide stance 300 reps every other day, 160 lunges, tons of ab work, pushups, etc. etc. I was a size 2-4, thin, but not "skinny" thin. Although in my dream land, I am that size and that in shape again, I don't think it is realistic anymore. So I'm shooting for a size 6 and whatever weight I'm at to be that size is fine.

    At the time I could and did very low carb eating and it worked very well for me. My diet then consisted basically of fish (tuna, tilapia, salmon), chicken, the occasional burger, green veggies, 2% milk, and peanut butter - which, in my opinion should be a food group all by itself :).

    However, now, the low carb doesn't work the way it used to. So, I just try to keep the carbs to 100 or less day, keep the calories in check, and am desperately trying to stay away from the weekend drinking. My diary is open, and I try to be diligent and honest about everything I'm putting in my body. I really like being able to pre-log in foods to see where I'm at and what I can and can't have.

    I also just got a HRM (Polar FT4) to keep my exercise intensity in check. I love it, and it's motivating for me to stay "in the zone" while working out.

    Last but not least - Exercise just makes me feel good, in all ways, in every aspect of my life.
  • melissamarah
    melissamarah Posts: 168 Member
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    Hi there. Just weighed myself this morning. I'm 249.0, 6'0", and I'm hoping to lose at least 55 lbs. I'm 32, married, and currently only working part-time. Since I'm pretty much broke, I'm doing C25K (going for a run in a few minutes, I'm on Week 2) with a free app on my phone. I'm also doing a bit of kettlebell exercises, using old laundry detergent bottles I filled with water.

    I'm a huge tomboy (my husband jokes that I'm more man than he is) and I love craft beer. I'm planning on abstaining from alcohol until the Superbowl. Since we moved from Chicago to LA three years ago, our little away-from-home family has been the bar we go to on Sundays to watch football. Most Sundays involve beers, nachos, maybe a pizza.

    I hope that when next football season starts in September, I'll get to see my football family and surprise them with a smaller body and a Brandon Marshall jersey!
  • kshadows
    kshadows Posts: 1,315 Member
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    Yay for another NFL fan!! I am not as excited for the Superbowl as I could be since my team didn't make it but my current jersey is a men's L and I'd really like to be in a Ladies M by the time the season starts again!!

    Feel free to add me if you'd like
  • Betty_Rubble
    Betty_Rubble Posts: 117 Member
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    I just wanted to chime in and say that you DO NOT need money to workout! Filling the empty detergent bottles is an excellent idea!

    I started out taking a walk outside (it was spring and summer), then found my first set of hand weights at the Goodwill for a couple of dollars, then bought a $10 walk at home DVD, and eventually bought a used treadmill for $50 bucks I found in the local classifieds.

    With the hand weights I use now, the DVD, and the exercise ball, I probably spent $30 total on. I used to get a heck of a work out with just the ball and weights - plan on making that happen again!
  • kshadows
    kshadows Posts: 1,315 Member
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    How's it going ladies??

    I'm down a pound but that could be normal fluctuation. I wore my HRM for skating Friday night and rocked a solid ~700 calories burnt in an hour and a half! I'm glad I can have fun while I do it! I also tracked EVERYTHING I put in my mouth for the first weekend ever (even when I tracked before, I always fizzled out on the weekend) and it really opened my eyes. I also realized that I do a LOT of eating when I'm bored instead of hungry so on Sunday I focused on staying busy or drinking water when I thought I felt hungry and did much better!

    Since the temperature is still going to be hovering around 0 degrees here for at least the next week, my plan is to do some workout videos at home. I want to start getting up earlier and doing them then but this morning it didn't happen. I did 20 minutes of Yoga on Saturday and my triceps are SO sore it hurts to lift my arms! lol I'm going to do a low-impact cardio tonight and see what I might want to do tomorrow. I'd like to get to exercising 6 days a week!!

    Did everyone have a good weekend?
  • kshadows
    kshadows Posts: 1,315 Member
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    Also, I was just thinking, maybe we should start a group and check in there, rather than just a thread? What are everyone's thoughts on that? :)
  • Ahumphrey41
    Ahumphrey41 Posts: 17 Member
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    Is this an open challenge ladies? I just started back with MFP and would love to join. Looking for motivation. I have logged in for 10 days in a row so far and don't want to lose momentum.
  • kshadows
    kshadows Posts: 1,315 Member
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    YES! The more the merrier! :) Welcome! I think I'm on 6 days straight (maybe most consecutive ever for me! lol)
  • Ahumphrey41
    Ahumphrey41 Posts: 17 Member
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    lol I know, right? I got out of bed last night at 11:15 just to go down stairs to log in.
  • Ahumphrey41
    Ahumphrey41 Posts: 17 Member
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    You may want to try popsugar.com They have great 10, 15, and up to 40 FREE videos to try for exercise. I am on my second week of T25 and I alternate with the popsugar exercises ....... I am proud to say that I am now under 200. Weighed in at 197.00 I lost 10 pounds since the beginning of January. I would really like to look nice for my son's graduation from high school. All of my family members are coming and I refuse to be self conscious because I don't like my weight. So thanks for the invite ladies!
  • kshadows
    kshadows Posts: 1,315 Member
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    Way to go!! I started back in September and lost ~12 lbs between then and the middle of December and then kind of slacked off but I'm back at it with vengeance since last week...Summer looks much closer from this side of New Years!!

    I've been using FitnessBlender.com but I will check out popsugar too! I couldn't justify spending the money on T-25 (not yet anyway) because I'm in such bad shape I'm afraid it'd be a waste of money. Let us know how it works out for you!!

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