Kicking *kitten* In Our Twenties - January Challenge!!

Cait - My cals are set at 1500, so not far off from yours, but I also probably eat WAY more than you do in terms of actual volume of food. I eat an insane amount just to satiate myself. Plus I always eat almost all or all of my exercise calories, just so that I don't feel like I'm starving. It's madness - I cannot believe that I spent months eating 1200 cals a day to lose this weight.

Hold up: Meag help me figure this out. We weigh practically the same right? So why am I only allotted 1260cals per day? Or on you on maintenance? I think I'm set for 1lb/week loss at lightly active. Thinking of jumping it up to very active when I really start to go heavy on CrossFit. I feel like I need more cals when I lift/protein. What are your thoughts?

Back later to respond/catch up with everyone.

Meag - I'm going to have to do some research, but I thinking you're right. I'm thinking a definite calorie increase is in order, and I am going to have to focus on those veggies, fruit, protein and fat. I really need to make my calories count, because I don't want to kick my @ss at the gym and then work against myself in my diet. I am eating OK right now, especially during the week, but I have several areas to improve upon. Thanks for your advice! You got in an excellent run today. I took my dog to the dog park and I was FREEZING and then when I got back inside my ears felt like they were going to fall off as I slowly got the feeling back. I can't imagine running in that kind of weather.

TJ - Congrats on your elliptical purchase! I personally think the best part is getting to wear just a sports bra and not care how it looks! :-) Jealous!

Mking - Getting a dog was one of the best decisions I ever made. I love having a pup run up to me when I get home and snuggle with when I wake up in the morning. I hope you find one that you fall in love with!

Melissa - Hope the family is feeling better!

Allie - Oh yes, bikini! Also one of my NSV goals if not the biggest one. I love that we are all moving towards that goal already. I know a lot of my coworkers/friends will wait until May and then be eating nothing but lettuce and flax seeds trying to look fit. We are doing it the healthy way, and probably going to end up looking much better because of it.

Lauratx22 - I know what you mean about changing your goal weight...it's like can't I just be satisfied! lol You are right it's all mental.

Finn - I already told u this, but I think you are doing amazingly well with your running. I just can't make myself do it! I hope you are shouting from the rooftops and doing a victory dance because you worked hard and it paid off. I hope you got yourself a "game plan" as you said. I am also trying to re-evaluate my food diary so we'll see where we end up!

AFM - Rest day. I may end up doing some light elliptical and stretching. Tomorrow is my baseline test at the CF gym and then into the full workouts. My goal is to do 4 full workouts this week, but I'll see what my body will allow. Excited for dinner tonight! Pork chop, baked potato and steamed broccoli. YUM.

I ran my 1st 30 minutes today :drinker: Distance covered was 2.5 miles @5mph. Now I'm thinking of not repeating C25K weeks as I've been doing since I'm feeling more confident. I plan on proceeding per the C25K schedule. This way I'll be able to run my 1st 5k this month!!

Foodwise I'm still not doing good :grumble: Hopefully will eat healthy rest of the month! Good night & hope you all are having a good weekend.

Great job!! That's how I started my running career! KEEP IT UP )

So many posts! I'm so proud of all of us girlies getting active this weekend.

Went for a run today and went longer than I usually do because I felt like I could do it! And I did with out stopping! I really think next time I will go even farther!

Even though I have super busy work schedule this week, I'm excited because my work has their lunch hour classes starting again which means free step class on Monday and free pilates on Friday!

On a side note, I found out there's some really good vintage bead stores 5 minutes from my house. I'm going to be making some earrings in the near future and maybe starting up an etsy store. I like being creative!

just adding cheralicia-welcome to the group!



skiptomylou32--scale goal: 125, non-scale goal: stop waiting till tomorrow, making excuses, and being complacent with my fitness goals
Lauratx22-to lose 7 pounds! Weighing 163!
Roobean33 - cardio 5X/week, lifting 3X/week, try out CrossFit, lose 2lbs, H20 guzzle, take measurements.
kvr414- 1 hr cardio 3x a week, try 3 new recipes, 12 cups water/day, lose 6 lbs.
meagalayne- curb late-night snacking and emotional eating, limit carbohydrate consumption after 4pm and experiment with new Low-GI recipes once a week, maintain under 130lbs, and complete first 4 weeks of Hal Higdon's Half Marathon Training (Novice)
emmarie1630- lose 4 pounds, 4x a week workout, use wii fitness games a ton, MORE WATER!
wardiemelissa-continue to maintain between 120-125lbs; plan healthy family meals at least 5 nights a week; begin training for half marathon (just need to find one in May or June)
tjradd73-lose 8lbs, 80oz H20 per day, and cardio 3x per week.
Mike (CaptainJim) lose 5-8 lbs, 3x (30-60 min) cardio per week, fit into size 32 jeans (I'm 34's right now)
Finncmh- see a loss on the scale, continue strength training 2x's a week and update the routine at the end of Jan, continue running training- increase to 5 min running intervals, 1 new healthy recipe a week, and get back in to yoga/stretching routine in the am and/or pm
briar_rose: lose 5 pounds, exercise 3x/week, no potato chips
mkingraham: lose 15 pounds by Feb 1., exercise 5/6 x a week with 3/4 days of strength training, eat breakfast everyday (a healthy one), two servings of fruit a day.
GuamGrly (Bethany) - DO NOT focus on the scale. Focus on changing my lifestyle by incorporating fruits and vegetables in my diet more, drinking my water everyday, planning my meals, working out 120 minutes per week, and getting back to C25k traning.
LostAlyKat (Aly) : Be under 170lbs for the end of the month. Do weight lifting or strength 3 times a week, be active in some way every day. Get back into doing Yoga do a class at least 1 time this month. Write down my feelings more often.
Stuartme123: JanSW = 156. Check-in with this thread 3-4x/week, 30 min of cardio 3x a week, Restart and keep up with 100 push-up challenge and C25K, Keep unhealthy snacking to under 200 calories/day, Add veggies that wouldn't normally be there to at least one meal a day, Try one new healthy recipe a week, Lose 1lb a week for a total of 4lbs.
seripha - exercise 5x a week for at least 30 minutes each. Try to eat at least 1 cup of dark green food every day and only 1 sweet thing per day.
miss_amy: to lose 8lbs (38 total lbs), work out 5x a week for an hour & log EVERYTHING!
Ngoat (nancy): Lose 5lbs, Drink more water, and eat healthier dinners!
rai8759: lose at least 4 lbs (164 by 1/31/11); work out 3x a week idevelop a consistent weight training regiment and work my way up to 2x a week weight training; drink 8-10 cups of water per day; eat more veggies; track everything in my food diary!!
Dteg: Scale to lose 5 LBs making under 140 for the first time in 5 years!!!! non scale: to eat more fresh food, eat in more often not going out as much anymore, excerise three times a week
Allie7383- be at or under 155, eat more fruits/veggies, and drink at least 8 glasses of water per day.
katecampbell03- Lose 5lbs this month and make time to fit in a work-out before/during/after work
pags221 - weigh 1.31.11 @ 123lbs / make it to the gym 21 days this month
Allislefttogain - Stay below 120; run 70 miles; 64 ounces of (straight!) water daily; complete weeks 2-4 of Turbo Fire; try kale & brussel sprouts; strength train 3x a week
tai_88 - drink at least 8 cups of water a day. I must drink at least 4 cups before i can have tea or my sprite zero; stop mindless/emotional eating; work out at least 4 times a week; log every day; continue the push up challenge; lose 4 lbs.
spellbinder25 - (1) Continue with C25K, (2) Cook twice a week, (3) Have a serving of fruit everyday, (4) Do strength training thrice a week, (5) Reach 142lbs by the end of Jan.
KanCrav - I want to loose 5lbs by the end of January
Silver180 - Stay smoke/fast food free, gym 3x/wk, stay under 2,000 cal/day, drink more water, lose 5 lbs.
angels and wolves-scale goal: 169 by feb 1st; non-scale goals: continue 30DS everyday, drop a pnt size by feb 1st, give up soda and caffeine, and be able to run a mile.
Nadine - Scale goals: 125lbs by my next half marathon in March. Non scale goals - successfully check off every scheduled run on my 1/2 marathon training program, thats 4 runs a week. Committ to practicing yoga at least twice a week (running injury preventer!!) Weight train twice a week. Cut fast food, make my own lunches and eating smartly - feeding my body what it needs to perform and feel its best, not foods that taste good but make me tired. My running time goals are in my signature
Nita_Bita - Scale goal: to get between 130-135 by May. Non Scale goals - follow through with TurboFire and eat clean the entire time; document everything that i eat
bellatiamarie lose 15 pounds; exercise at least 15 times this month (haven't exercised one day yet)
kls1628- stick to calorie allowance, continue going to the gym 4 times a week but add 20 minutes of cardio to my lifting sessions, drink 8 glasses of water per day.
cheralicia-to get to 120lbs, and non-scale goal: cut the procrastination, go to yoga class and get on my treadmill - both at least once per week

Good morning ladies! (Gents if your around)

What a busy weekend! I have today off but I am heading to the car dealership here in a minute and then I have a dr appt this afternoon.

Meag- I hope things are going better for you! You are a total rockstar so don't forget it. Battling stress is a part of this weight loss journey, maybe take some time every day to think about the things you do good. Try not to focus on failure, you are too awesome for that!

Everyone else sorry in a bit of a hurry.

I am debating about swimming today since I will have to time, if I do it will be 7 days in a row of exercise and my body is already tired. I might just get up for a super early swim tomorrow. we shall see. I gotta grab stuff for the car dealership so I gotta run guys. BTW turkey bacon sucks, I told the BF if we are going to do bacon lets do the real thing.

QOTD- What is your favorite healthy breakfast?

This is hard for me, I like my oatmeal with fresh fruit in it, but a really good veggie omelet is killer!

Hey Meag, I completely feel your pain with the love-hate relationship with food. Mine isn't so much a balanced intake or portions but yes, the restrictions. Maybe my little story will make your situation seem a little more hopeful!

It's a verry long story (feel free to skim) but basically I have always had a TON of issues that most of my doctors used to just try to "band-aid fix" with pills and more pills. Most of the issues were hormonal and a lot of the direct problems were considered normal (cramps, irregular cycle etc). So they didn't check past that and I was put on a lot of meds, BCP, and max strength muscle relaxants. - It was messing me up, plus not dealing with all the real problems going on in the background.

Anyway, when I got engaged I decided to get my stuff checked out, and the Dr came back with a ton of stuff that was wrong, complete hormonal imbalance, cysts, endometriosis etc etc etc. They found out I was insulin resistant (body wasn't registering my natural insulin and I used to eat pounds of sugar as a result of cravings so I had a crazy excess that was turning into estrogen - disaster). Again - the doctor recommended surgery and about 10 pills daily to keep it all in check, plus she dropped in that I should consider having kids asap bc it would be too late in 2 years (I was 22).

Needless to say - I was beyond terrified but a longtime friend of my mother-in-law is a physician who also became trained in naturopathy, acupuncture and alternative medicine. She travels worldwide to work on cancer cases but agreed to work with me also. She clarified a lot and the diet restrictions came from what my body couldn't process (pretty much anything processed, unnatural, and things that aren't easily digested and turn into sugar). Right – so after a year of her regime (I slowly eliminated foods, not all at once) my tests all came back clear – hormones in check, cysts gone, insulin resistance under control.

It's not a hard diet to to maintain once you work it into a life plan. I used to diet all the time for weight loss, but once I had this going on I just started eating what I could and what was healthy. I still get protein from seafood, beans and lentils, and can eat rice, and corn. My problem is once I moved to Toronto and away from home (away from Dr. Cathy too) - I got a lot lazier and cheated a lot more - so now I'm getting back on track.

Phew - sorry! I told you it was a long story! Hope that explains why I"m so restricted. It's not by choice, but if it saves me from being chained to pills all my life - it's worth it.

Hey everyone,

Selfish post today (aka rant)

Went to physio yesterday for my sore foot and the outcome is nothing more than casual walking for 5 days. GRRR It's really annoying as I've been trying so hard to do everything and avoid injuries. Stretching/multi vitamins/following a program/iron supplement/good shoes. Seems like there is always something happening and holding me back.

I am especially bummed as I was hoping to put another dent in my excess holiday pudge before a date I have on Friday. I know in a week it wouldn't be much different visibly, but its that slimmer/feel good sensation I was going for that even little loses can give you. Any tips on how I can still try to slim down and feel good by friday?

Since I can't do cardio I know I am going to find it tough this week to stick to my cals. I am used to earning 500+ cals from excersize, I don't think my body is going to like suddenly getting only 1200. Any suggestions on how I can trick my body into thinking its getting more than it is would be most welcome! I know if I feel like I'm starving I'm going to cave and go on an eating frenzy. Maybe I could show up on friday in a Pumpkin suit, test his sense of humour??