2 week challenge
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Better- Those are some awesome prepped foods.. I hope your tummy is feeling better so you can enjoy them! Congrats on the platinum!!!0
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No star for me because of the drop in cals from stopping breastfeeding. It was definitely a struggle. Not to mention my hormones are out of whack. Shooting for a better week this week. At a conference yesterday and today so I will try to do more of a checkin and catchup tomorrow.0
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Hey ladies. Feeling a little better today so I was able to have Greek yogurt with fruit instead of graham crackers and ginger ale. I packed my gym bag to lift during lunch today and I'll probably try to get dinner done early so we can do an after dinner family walk. Trying to make that a habit now that the weather is nice and days longer. So I'm set for a good day! Hope you all have a good day!0
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Chloe, we were posting at the same time. Hang in there with the calories; your body will adjust!
Here is week 2 Star Challenge.
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Look at all those PLATINUM *STARS* in the challenge!!!
Nicely done, women!
Europe was a game-changer for me! (Even though I have been there 3 time before....my priorities have changed, over time, as maybe all of ours do!)
All the women (and men) are skinny. They all dress very well and look GREAT! I can do ALL of that, right now....I *am* tall and skinny and when i dress well, i LOOK GREAT! (I didn't dress well even one time in Europe....i was definitely exhausted, dressed in layers, tourist with a backpack! which I knew going in....)
So, while i will continue to lift, because it is the right thing to do, and i will continue to watch my calories,because it is the right thing to do, it CAN'T "define" me, anymore....
Ever.
I am SO freaking amazing, just as i am! I lead an incredible life, just as it is! I have taken great care of my body, whether cardio or weights, for 30+ YEARs, now.....and my body is, in fact, a temple.....a temple to the libertarian, of course, but a temple nonetheless!
Enjoy your life, my lovely mfp ladies.....it is the ONLY earthly, delightful life that YOU get!
BOOM!0 -
Well, gonna try and get this week started off right. Managed to stay under cals and not drink last night. It was a rest day but I did some abs.
I will do sprints tonight and hills tomorrow.
Beeps, welcome back, I remember thinking the same thing about Paris, how put together the women looked to walk the dog. I still struggle with that-not looking like a slob sometimes!
It's hard when you travel but I am sure it is easy for them! my sister is like, though, even if we're cleaning out grandpa's house she looks great.0 -
Amy--Ha ha I always struggle with not looking like a slob! I live in my pjs at home. Even when I go to work I'm generally too lazy to put on makeup.
Beeps--well said! I think that appreciating your body leads to good habits, which in turn leads to having a body worth appreciating. Europeans don't seem to obsess about exercise calories as much as we do over here, but they also don't seem to go overboard on portion size etc. like we do.
Ashley--glad to hear you're feeling better!
Chloe--I'm dreading the calorie drop when I stop breastfeeding! But like Ashley said I'm sure everything will balance out eventually. You managed to eat within your "normal" calorie allotment for many years before getting pregnant, so eventually it has to get easier.
Not much to report here. I ate peanuts and a pretzel yesterday for dinner (I went to a baseball game). So not doing great on the nutrition, but I haven't bought any desserts for myself yet this week and surprisingly I don't feel too deprived yet. Then again it's only Tuesday....0 -
Beeps - I love the way you are thinking! I am also going to apply that to my job (frustrated with work right now) it does NOT define me either! I also think Europeans don't generally eat fast food the way Americans do - it is more once in a while and not habitual. They also take the time to really enjoy what they are having along with the companionship of the people they are with.
As far as dress is concerned I have a closet full of great clothes that I enjoyed every minute and dollar spent buying after I lost all my weight but I rarely wear any of them now since I work from home. I am always in workout clothes, PJs or sweats. It is so bad that the dog knows that when I am putting on makeup I must be going somewhere :happy: I was thinking the other day that I have this beautiful suit that I bought for a business trip that I have only worn once, hope I get to wear it again one of these days.
It is so much cooler this week and I have taken advantage of it to get out and run and it has been awesome! Maybe I needed that heat so I could appreciate how wonderful it is when it isn't so hot!
Seems like everyone is having a great week so far! Keep up the great work everyone!0 -
I walk the done up and dress down look almost equally. I don't go to work without makeup and a generally put together outfit that is accessorized. But on my day off, I'm in yoga pants and tanks with no makeup and Saturday and Sunday I go to the coffee shop in the same and stay in some semblance of that unless we go out for dinner or something and then I'll put real clothes on. But I don't HAVE to get done up. I can survive backpacking and music festivals just fine! I do like to get really glammed up every now and again though.
This day is dragging..... Come on 5:00. This week is going to drag too. Typically I'm off Wednesdays, but we're headed to the NC mountains for a long weekend, so I'm taking Friday off instead. I had to work 4 days in a row last week too! Wah! I've gotten rather spoiled....0 -
I am not in the *star* challenge, but I do feel like I should be posting what I'm going to be up to, nutrition/fitness-wise, for the next couple of weeks:
1. get in 2 x lifting per week....I would LIKE to get in 3 x weekly lifting, but looking at my work schedule on the horizon, that is pretty wishful thinking and not very realistic! So, I will get in the 2 and in a couple of weeks can settle back into my 3 x per week routine.
2. drink water, water, water....I was perpetually DEhydrated in Europe. On purpose. Just didn't want to have to look for bathrooms everywhere we went. And, I seem to have come back with an urge to NOT drink (diet) pop, so that feels good, too. Water it is!! (Limit of 1 x diet pop per day, when the *urge* pops up!).
3. try and get in some more cardio....truth is, I quite ENJOY walking!! My time in Europe, when we were walking 10's and 15's km PER DAY, I didn't bat an eye! The summer sun is growing stronger everyday and if I can even just pop out of the house and walk a bit, every evening, I bet I will feel better for it!
I know my plans are pretty boring and they don't sound very different, week-to-week....but, that's okay!0 -
I never listed any goals.....
1. Stay within my calorie range
2. Lift 2x, Run 2x, Circuits Class
3. Eat more protein
4. Only 1 dessert per night
I had more ground turkey on my sweet potato yesterday for lunch, and had Greek yogurt for breakfast and I really think the eat more protein feel full longer thing may have truth to it!
I usually am starving at 5:30 when I get home, but I honestly wasn't even super hungry for dinner around 7. But that didn't stop me from eating a bakery cookie. That was soooo good.
I'm heading out of town Friday, but I plan on running tonight and Friday morning before we leave and I have my circuits class Thursday. So if I can get a lifting session in while in the mountains (totally doable; there is a gym at the clubhouse), I'll make my goals. Hopefully I can do some hiking, but there will be 3 kids under the age of 5, so I may be on kid duty for the hike. We'll see.....
Have a great day ladies!0 -
Today, I lift!!!0
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Beeps - glad to hear your trip to Europe went well & yes you do take care of yourself & you look awesome!
I really like to dress up myself. Even if I'm not working I will still put on a nice pair of jeans, a dressy top & jewelry. I also won't leave the house without at least some foundation on my face, but only add color for special occasions.
I had a great week for working out last week, but am a little nuts this week so struggling to get everything in. I did take a couple of dance classes & I am going running tonight & have another class Friday. I do need to get in some lifting though. As far as food goes I am having a hard time saying no to sweets, so need to work on that.
Have a great week everyone!0 -
Last night I did some incline sprints then picked up my race packet. I also went to Nordstrom Rack and found some new running shoes. They were only $60 and I had a gift card for $25 from the Easter Bunny so it was good to have some new running shoes without spending a fortune. I hate spending money on workout clothes for some reason.
The scale was down a little from last week, small victories...
My goals for the next couple of weeks is to really stick to the calories, at or under goal. After Bolder Boulder, I will probably do more of the strength visual impact stuff.
Last night I made these oatmeal bars I saw on a thread here:
1 cup rolled oats (100g)
1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract
3 tbsp stevia or sweetener of choice
1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce (120g)
1/2 cup almond milk
1/8 tsp salt
2 tbsp dark chocolate chips (save a few for the top, too!)
4 tbsp PB2, OR 2 tbsp peanut butter, or almond butter. (or PB2)
Optional: 1/4 to 1/2 tsp cinnamon (If you like cinnamon in chocolate chip cookies)
Preheat oven to 380 degrees. Combine dry ingredients, then mix in wet. spread into a loaf pan (non-stick or Pam sprayed) cook for 20 mins and broil the last few minutes to get the crust on top.
I used honey and almond butter so mine have more calories but under 300. Makes 4 servings (depending on how many pieces you cut them into!)
I thought they were yummy:bigsmile:0 -
Thanks for sharing Amy. I've been meaning to make some granola-ish bars to bring to work for snacks. I bet you could add some protein powder to those too.
I just looked up this recipe I've had for a while. Never made it. May try it next week.
Sarah Fit Granola Bars (Gluten Free, High Protein)
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cooking Time: 25 minutes
• 1/2 cup Unsweetened Vanilla Almond Milk (may use regular milk, coconut milk, soy milk)
• 2 tbsp Honey*
• 1 medium Banana
• 1 1/2 cup of Old Fashioned Rolled Oats
• 1/2 cup Almond Meal*
• 3 tbsp Coconut, shredded raw
• 2 tsp Cinnamon
• 2 servings Vanilla Protein Powder like Jay Robb Whey or Vega Sport Vanilla
• 1/4 cup Almonds
• 1/4 cup Golden Raisins
Preheat oven to 350F. Combine the first three ingredients. Mash up the banana and mix well together. You do not have to mix the remaining ingredients in a separate bowl but it does help create consistency throughout the batter. Combine all ingredients. Spray a 9 x 13 or 8 x 8 cooking dish with PAM or other cooking spray. Pat down batter into pan
Bake for 25 minute or until center is firm. Cut into 8-10 size servings.
If I had cut the above into 10 servings, each bar would have 146 calories, 5.4 g of fat, 19.5 g of Carbohydrates, 3 g of fiber, 7.8 g of sugar, and 6.8 g of protein: a perfect 3:1 carb to protein ratio for after your workout.0 -
Thoughts on this topic would be appreciated....
Now that I am back in "DIET" mode I am trying to figure out the best way to log. Should I set me cals at say 1350 and log exercise cals? (I am currently running 3 days a week and lifting 3 days a week and I do not have a heart rate monitor that works, so that would be estimating) OR should I just set them at say 1500 cals and not log exercise?0 -
Chloe, personally I like to see the benefit of calorie burns (although I do have a HRM). It does help motivate me to move more when I know I'm going to be eating or drinking more than ordinary. You may also want to consider one cheat day a week or a day you know you will exceed 1350. I had my calories set to 10,000 a week but my daily was 1350 so I had 550 extra calories to play with over the week. In my case, if I restrict restrict restrict (which I feel like 1350 a day can be, especially when trying to work in booze :drinker: ) I set myself up for binging at some point during the week. But if you feel like you don't need the motivation, maybe the higher daily count and not counting calorie burns is the way to go! So yeah....that wasn't really decissive.....
I really think it's an issue of motivation to work out. Or maybe you could alternate between the two? 0 -
I think exercise-burn is overrated (and overstated....) and, for me, has nothing to do with ingestion of calories - when trying to keep a calorie-deficit.
But hey, that's me!
I did my lifting....am back doing the Advanced Strength Series by Venus. So, where I left off, was Module 1, Week 3, Day 1. I dropped back quite a bit of the weight because I don't want to be too stiff and sore. Too late...My quads are BULGING from water-retention as I sit here.
Booooooooooooooooo.0 -
Chloe, As far as the goal setting, I also like to record calories burned from cardio but I try to ignore the strength training because it seems much fuzzier to me. Also, like Ashley said, it motivates me to workout if I want to do beer and BBQ, I like to "earn" it.
Not sure what kind of deficit you are going for, you could just do the formula that includes workout cals and shoot for a deficit.
In this book I have now, he (Rusty Moore) recommends this: Goal Weight in Pounds x (hours working out per week + 9.5) = Calories
Last night I did some sprints. Tonight I am going to jog home if the weather cooperates. It's only 5.5 miles but we've getting these afternoon storms with hail, so I drove to work and if I jog home, Mike will bring me in the morning. I hope it's nice enough...0 -
Thanks for the input ladies. I agree that it is good for me to log workout cals if am struggling with workout motivation, but I am not. And I have to agree with Beeps in that really the only way to lose weight is to limit intake. Working out more doesn't do much for weight loss for me.
So with a TDEE calculator using the sedentary mode it says I need about 1750 cals a day. So if I use that calculation and take off 500 to create my deficit, but then add back 250 for workout cals that gets me to the 1500 I have it set at right now.
If I use Amy's formula, I am currently at 146 and my goal weight is 135 and I workout 6 days a week for at least a half hour that puts me at 1687 cals.
So in conclusion I think I am going to put myself at 1600 cals a day or 11,200 a week. I will try to shoot for 1500 cals a day to give myself the cushion for drinks or cheats on the weekends. I think this is realistically doable and if the scale stops moving I will lower it in 50 cal increments like I did when I had the baby.0
