Ill get on here tonight and make my goals known, when my brain is working a bit better and I'm awake!

Hi all, I am new to the group and not sure what kind of goals I am supposed to post. Is it exercise, calorie, calories burned? Or anything? I am 270 pounds, 45 years old and becoming desperate to get in shape. I have asthma which in the past has dragged me down, but I am finally being medicated what I hope is properly and I can get to getting…my first downfall…food. I love food. My second downfall…I work out too hard, get too sore, and I quit. My third downfall is my job, I started a new job recently and I sit all day…it drives me nuts. I get up and march in place or walk back in forth in my little area as frequently as I can, but 8 hours of boredom…I come home and I am mentally spent from boredom. So I have to figure that out.

I have been the moderator/designer of a monthly exercise group on FB since January or February and I feel like such a hypocrite because while I always start strong, I never finish them. I ALWAYS try to continue to cheer on every one else, but I just feel like a big fat liar, because I am not doing it and I feel like I am letting them all down.

Today started my new June Challenge and I am already done with the work out today, with the exception of the walking for 5 minutes…it is raining here today, but I am going to go grocery shopping. I am also (at 270 pounds) studying to get my NETA certified trainers license….I love helping people, but the hypocrite thing kicks in there too. If I cannot control myself, how can I lead by example?

So, that is my story folks…. Perhaps you are now regretting allowing me in to the group…LOL. Just kidding, I am hoping to get the support I need (it is hard to find in my day to day life, I think my friends like me to be fat and don’t want me to get skinny) and that I can learn from others as well.

What are some suggestions of different goals people are have been setting. I am anxious to get going. I like short term goals…..I am best with those.

BTW...my name is Jodi...no need to have to write out schnicklefritz when talking to me. LOL

Hi, Jodi--glad you made it over here!

Like Sue said, the focus right now is meeting a goal that you think works for you of # of calories burned per week. I'm probably going to set some more specific goals too (like swim 3 times per week), especially until I figure out the best way to count my calories. One reason we went with calories, though, was that through the MFP system everyone has a way too track them and can compete against themselves.

One thing I like about the weekly goal here is that if a week doesn't work out for whatever reason it's easy to learn from it and refocus. You don't have to worry about blowing an early week and then not being able to make the goal and losing motivation for the rest of the month. My schedule in June is going to make a couple of weeks (especially the one starting a week from today) particularly challenging, so I find this appealing.

Also, like Sue says, we just can talk about what works for us and challenges and so on. It sounds like you will have a lot to contribute.

Hello Warrior Women and especially our new members. I'm Rachael and I'm glad you joined! We had a good couple of weeks in May and now I'm ready to start a new challenge.

I have been thinking about what my challenge will be for a few days and I'm not sure if I want to push myself too much calorie wise because I think I may be burning too many calories as opposed to what I'm eating. I very recently started weight training and my weight has been slightly stagnant and I'm considering the possibility that I'm just burning more than I should but it could also just be that I'm building muscle. The jury is still out and I'm just trying my best to go with the flow.

I was also unsure if I was going to count the calories burned as per my Fitbit or just from my HRM during workouts. I have decided to just count workouts and to go with 4000 calories burned a week also. Last month I burned about 3889 calories/week. I plan to do about a mile and a half less walking in the month of June so I will have more time to dedicate to weight training.

My other challenge for this month will be weight training every other day. I plan to stick to that and re-evaluate next month. I hope everyone has a productive month. I can't wait to see how we do!

Okay, so another question...for those of you using a HRM...Do you wear the monitor ALL DAY...and count the all day Calorie burn? or just count the burn during a specific excercise....so...if I go for a walk...reset the HRM, or if I get on the eleptical...reset the HRM? What are the majority of you doing? I have a Polar something or other with a chest strap and have not used it much because...while I have it all set up...I am not sure the proper way to use it. LOL Isn't that just dumb. It also gets a bit smothering, however, I have not worn it all day ever yet.

Thank you in advance for your thoughts on this.

I am new to the group. Thanks for the invite Sue! I think I will set my goal to burn 3500 calories this week. I think it sounds reasonable and it will also help me track how much I can do. If this sounds too high/low...someone please let me know. Give me some tips! Good luck Warrior Women!!!

P.S. Love the pic of Michonne...she is my role model!

Lemur-I love that I am not the only person that obsesses over things...I drive ME crazy some times. I am curious to hear about your HRM experience as well. I think tomorrow when I do the elliptical I am going to put mine on and see what it comes up with. My HR was at 155+ during my 5 minute jaunt on the elliptical...so I am sure I burned something. I feel like a dork having such tiny goals for working out...but I ALWAYS...set goals way to high, I either don't make them and get mad, or I make them at the cost of much pain and agony and get mad....regardless, the end result is the same...I quit.

So today...I walked for 10 mins, elliptical for 5, 5,000+ steps and 10 + flights of stairs (fitbit info) and I also did some weight training as well. Starting small...working up. I run a workout group on Facebook and the first 3 days are easy peasy...but since I added some extra weight or whatever...I can feel it in my legs. SIlly things like 20 arm circles forwards and backwards....10 ab pulses....10 hip abductions each leg ( I used our weight machine ) and every day they have to walk....first 5 minutes, then I keep advancing it. I have been "working out" most of my life on and off....many of my peeps have not...so I start easy and add and half way through the month I hope that at least half of them are hanging in. LOL

I am so happy I was invited to the group....I feel at home and happy here....even though I am at 270 pounds....I know we are all doing the same thing....no matter what the weight is and no matter if we are beginners or have been working out a long time....I love this group...did I mention that?

Lemur....hope you get your bike fixed....good luck tomorrow and I can not wait to here how things go for you..... MY GOALS ARE CHECKED FOR THE DAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Thanks for having me in this group. Well, I'm not sure what I'm putting as an exercise goal. I am experimenting at the moment. I was walking 2 miles a day, 5 days a week. On 3 of those nights I went to an hour long Zumba class and on another night I bowled in a league. Let's just say that that routine was short-lived. My body rebelled and I am now trying to eat more and exercise less. I have cut back on the walking... I meant to do 2 days a week (on the days I don't have Zumba), but it keeps getting thunderstormed out. So, I haven't been doing much walking. I skipped Zumba for a week completely, then did 1 class for a week, then 2, but now I am back to wanting to do 3 a week. I just really enjoy it and miss it too much. So, I guess my goal is to eat more, bowl once a week, Zumba twice a week (maybe 3) and throw a walk in here or there (maybe). As for caloric burn, I have a feeling that the Zumba calories are way too high, so I only eat back around 1/2 to 3/4 of them. I just bought a HRM, but I haven't figured out how to use it yet. That is a chore for the weekend.

Oops, meant to say my sympathies on the early morning dental appointment, Sue. Hope it went okay.

Congrats on getting your goals done, Jodi! I'm looking forward to finding out if the HRM is useful for you and for Diana too. It's definitely going to take me a bit of time to get used to, but I loved having some added confirmation, since I've never trusted the MFP calories at all (except for running, since I've read how that's calculated at it seemed generally right).

My HR was at 155+ during my 5 minute jaunt on the elliptical...so I am sure I burned something.

Sounds like it! I kept peeking at mine while riding and it was all over the place. Up to 158 on the more intense bits, but quite a bit lower at other times.

I don't think you should worry about your goals being tiny--just exercising regularly is a huge thing, and it's amazing how quickly we can make progress. When I started the whole fitness thing in late January/February, I'd not been exercising at all other than daily walking for ages (and to be honest I'd gotten in the habit of driving lots of places I should have walked). And I used to be in pretty good shape, so I was SO frustrated with myself. In particular, I wanted to start running again, and I couldn't run for more than a couple of minutes, even slow, and couldn't do the elliptical even that long. Part of this was that I hate treadmill running--by the time it got warm enough to run outside I was in decent enough shape to run a couple miles, even though I still couldn't make myself do that on the treadmill, and still it's frustrating that I'm so slow compared to how I used to run (but I have to keep reminding myself about the extra weight that I'm running with--I'm sure I would have been just as slow back in the day in a vest that made me the weight I'm running with now). Similarly, when I started back on the stationary bike (again, too cold outside), I was doing the lowest settings, but just setting tiny goals (ride for X minutes, go up one level), I was able to improve steadily, although it didn't always feel like it. But that really wasn't that long ago, so I was making more progress than I realized.

Even a bit later, when I first got active on MFP and joined a challenge that went from St. Patrick's Day 'til Easter (which is how I met Sue), being consistent with exercise was such a struggle and I'd never manage to do more than 3 days per week, so it's amazing to me that I'm now doing it so regularly. (Part of this is being able to go outside for more of it, since I enjoy that so much more.) One key for me also is making myself go in the morning--I love getting up early and always do, but it's been a challenge also getting myself to move early, though I'm super happy when I do. My morning bike ride this morning was so fun.

Hi! My name is Veronica. I am getting started a litle late with the goal for June. I was out of work for 9 months and just started working again 7 weeks ago. During all of that time off I had PLENTY of time to work out any time that I wanted to. Since starting the job, that has gone down drastically. I haven't really gained much weight, but I know that I need to get back into the swing of things. I work in a high-rise so I try to walk the stairs on lunch. I'm going to go with a kind of wimpy calorie goal compared to everyone else's!! But I will try to shoot for 1,800 which is WAY more than I have been getting recently!

Stephanie--I always come back to lunch all sweaty, but it's worth it when that's the only excercise I get all day!
Sue--I LOVE yoga!! They do a free class where I live!