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

Hi guys, I just came across this thread, I hope it isn't too late. My name is Melissa, I am 23 and from the New Orleans area. I've been at this for about a month and am pretty happy with the results so far. I am horribly guilty of crash dieting so going about this the healthy way has given much slower results than I am used to.

My goal for this month is to bring my total loss to 33 and go to the gym at least three times a week.

Hi guys! Wowww I cannot believe how fast Feb is moving...at this point we'll probably need 2 new threads just to keep up before the end of the month!

Trying to keep up with everyone but with all the activity and new faces I'm not gonna be very good at replying to everyone's amazing progress (1st week of Feb is sounding pretty good for everyone)

Allie - Studying can get overwhelming and I find that when I'm all stressed out and trying to cram in studying I have a constant need to be stuffing my face with food - If you're anything like me, try to keep healthy snacks on hand for those study sessions. But practice is really a big thing, and I've heard the GRE is not too tough once you get used to the content again.

Megan - Good job on the running achievements! That plus bootcamp and having to walk your new puppy (who btw I am thoroughly jealous of, been BEGGING my husband for a dog for over a year) sounds like a pretty rock solid W/O routine going on.

Emmmarie - all the working out this week should boost you up for the weekend of good family food. Maybe setting a couple mini food-goals for the weekend of eating out could help with choosing healthy options? Either way, sounds like a great weekend, so enjoy it, and work your butt off next week if the food gets a little too good!

Nadine - I remember reading earlier back (haha like 20 posts back) that you ran something like 7m in an hr?? That's amazingg!! you should be proud, you don't even want to know how poor my running abilites are. I feel like a 70yr old with a heart condition the way I get after just 5 minutes of running straight. Really need to step up my game, running has always been a weak spot for me (since I was a kid).

Shelsab - You work at starbucks? Haha ... omg temptation! I love Chai lattes, do you ever decrease the number of syrup pumps? I usually get a tall with 2 pumps (vs 3) and find it's not as sweet (and hope that there aren't as many calories) lol. Have fun in vegas too!

Jnlynch - Good job on making it through day 1 of the shred! Even if it takes you more than 30 days, the point is, you're gonna be getting into some serious shape with all that work. you'll be putting in. Keep up the good work!

Kbell - don't beat yourself up about 3 pieces of chocolate...Last night I was in a really weird mood and just ambushed my kitchen...had 1 PC choc chip cookie (so mad that my husband left them open and on the counter just TEMPTING ME) and 3 squares of Green&Black's Dark chocolate... I don't know what was wrong with me! felt so bad after but such is life - not the end of the world as long as it's not a habit.

lostalykat - wooah that sounds like a pretty restrained concert night. Good for you, especially for tracking it all! That's still my biggest thing, tracking nights out with friends!

New additions to the group - Welcome!! So great to have so many 20 somethings on here trying to get healthy and fit!

AFM - Horrible week workout wise, I'm not even thinking about it to be honest. My test is next week Saturday and after that I know I will have all the time in the world to be in the best shape of my life. Especially seeing how much time I've been able to squeeze out of my schedule for studying. If I can devote even half of that to working out (and using it towards something so much more fun than studying!) I'll be golden! Just trying to keep my calories in check...I'm squeezing by the next couple weeks because I don't have much to lose in the first place, so as long as the scale stays where it is (and doesn't go up) I'll be happy. Starting Feb 13th I will ramp things up for sure! So excited!! Even more excited to never see a LSAT test again!

HAPPY WEEKEND EVERYONE!

Kan - Try going for a small container of chocolate milk post work out. It's the best thing to rejuvinate your muscles and fill an empty tummy after working out. I would suggest that for now, especially since you're just starting to get into the swing of things for training. Protein shakes can come later when you're more comfortable.

Melissa - Welcome to the thread

Nadine - I use DJ Steveboy's podcasts for runs. They're good mixups of funk and house and some popular songs and they're FREE on itunes. He keeps them at around 150 - 180 bpm depending if it's the beginning or the end of the mix and they can be anywhere from 45 to 95 minutes long.

AFM - Been so busy prepping to see my parents next week in Arizona. Did my second night of kung and my Sifu has already got me started on Wushu forms. I'm really excited about it but I hurt so bad today all over. It's really going to pay off when I start going 3 x a week later this month!

adding sweetmelissa!! welcome to the group just curious, since you said you wanted to get to a toal loss of 33lbs this month and your ticker says 11lbs lost...does that mean you are shooting for 22lbs this month??!!



mpresto - scale goal: lose 10lbs by March 1 (150 lbs); non-scale goal: 2 days lifting, 2 days abs, 4 days cardio per week
megteg - Lose 4 lbs, drink 9 glasses of water/day, and get 4 workouts in per week (at least one with strength), make more homemade lunches
jessista: Be under my calorie goal for at least 7 days this month, be under 150 lbs by the end of the month, cut down on unhealthy late-night snacking (sometimes I am just hungry, so a healthy snack would be ok), walk the long way back to my apartment after class, climb the four flights of stairs to my apartment without it ending in heavy breathing.
seripha - 148lbs by the end of the month, work out 5x a week, go to kung fu 3x a week when I'm in town
roobean33- Focus on NSV's, take measurements every 2 weeks, focus on healthy quality calories, CF 4X/week, cardio 2X
emmarie1630- lose 3 pounds, track measurements- lose up to 1 inch, drink tons of water, cut out diet soda, 4x/week work out and strength training
lil_vic22: Lose 9 lbs
Meggonkgonk: To reach 143 lbs and cut down eating out to 1x a week
mkingraham: I would like to lose 7 lbs this month but more importantly by the end of Feb I would like to be able to run 2 miles without stopping. Its gonna be a hard one but I think I can do it! I also am planning on keeping up the healthy breakfast and exerciese routines! woop!
jbars11- lose 6lbs, continue 30 day shred personal challenge and cut back on soda
meagalayne- Maintain under 130lbs, finish 4 more weeks of HH 1/2 Training Program (Intermediate), race 15km on Feb 19th in UNDER 1:43:00, curb late night snacking and after work binging, and limit sweetener use to ONCE a day.
ChelsiBurnett- (Starting weight 139.2) Goals: Lose 5 + pounds, Eat back most of my exercise calories, drink lots of water, do p90x everyday, & don't eat fast food.
Lostalykat- Lose 4 pounds, Weigh 167, Strength train 2-3 days a week, Track all food that goes in my mouth, Do at least one Yoga class! Assess goals weekly, Make a new recipe 4 times this month.
Cheralicia - Scale Goal: 2lbs (116lbs); Non Scale Goal: Cook at least 3x/week, yoga at least 1x/week, Cardio at least 1x/week, TRACK EVERYTHING (even the bad days) - oh yeah and crush my LSAT this month!
LiL_Fizzy-lose 15 Lbs., Cardio 6x's a week, Kettlebell 3x's a week and NO FAST FOOD!
lolahippie - Be below 140lbs, complete food diary everyday and exercising at least 3 times a week!
kbellnurse - Get out of the 150's! Stop mindless snacking/eating off the meal plan. No chocolate bars all month!
jnlynch- Be 124 lbs (lose 4 pounds this month), workout at least 4x a week, drink at least 8 cups of water a day, & pack my lunch more often.
Kristin - Exercise EVERYday, stay under my calories at least 20 days out of the month and overcome my sugar addiction!
Aholtz1- Exercise 5x/wk (3x Cardio 2x Strength training) drink 12glasses of water a day...lower the amount of soda to 1 per wk
marymoni- Get to 135lbs and improve endurance to 10km.
Nadine - stop drinking. prepare all my meals at home. 4 strength workouts per week. Lose 6lbs - GW for March 1st is 124lbs.
GuamGrly (Bethany) - no scale goal. My focus will continue to be on the lifestyle rather than the # on the scale. Incorporate more fruits and veggies into my diet, drink my water, workout 120 minutes per week, and attempt to get on track with C25K training...again!!
nesmikelopez (Vanessa) – lose 5lbs and finish 5k in under 40 minutes. Drink water, no soda and track meals.
noltes2 (Sara) - lose 5 pounds, hit under 155 to have a healthy BMI! Eat consistent calories, with only one over day per week.
wardiemelissa-continue my 1/2 training using Hal Higdon Intermediate, maintain weight, continue to try 2-3 new dinner recipes, eat at least 6 servings of fruit and veggies a day
crystal_ice4: Work out atleast 4 times a week, loose 8 lbs, and try new fruits and veggies
Rachellynch83-I would like to lose 3 lbs this month. (Slow and steady), take my measurements, keep planning our meals a week ahead, and work out 4 days a week.
Allie7383- lose at least 4.5 pounds to put me into the 140's, get back on track with TurboFire. Continue with 8 cups of water/day, consistently track, even if i have a bad food day.
KanCrav- get to 157, make it to the gym 3times a week, workout at least 5 times a week, learn my limits with strength training and start a regimanet.. NO ALCOHOL!
kvr414- 12+cups water/day, Intense cardio 3x/week, Limit carb consumption post 5PM, Lose 3 lbs.
lizzymaez--lose at least 4 more pounds of the 8 pounds I have left to go. Be healthy and workout 3 times a week. Continue taking vitamins every day.
Stuartme123: JanSW = 155. Check-in with this thread 3-4x/week, 30 min of cardio 3x a week, Conintue with 100 push-up challenge and C25K, Keep unhealthy snacking to under 200 calories/day, Add veggies to at least one meal a day, Try one new healthy recipe a week, Lose 1lb a week for a total of 4lbs.
slindsey137- Be down to 162 by the end of the month to keep my goal weight on track, do 30 Day Shred EVERY DAY, track all of my food everyday!
KatySteele- lose 10 lbs by March 1st!!! Make it to the gym at least five days per week. Drink 6 glasses of water per day.
shelsab: lose 5 lbs. Work out 5x a week. Try new classes at the gym and no more soda. Be more motivating to my friends and family in anything they are trying to achieve.
tjradd73-lose 6lbs, at least 80ozs of water/day, 3X arms/week, 3X abs/week, burn at least 1000 calories per week!
odettelh - walk for 30 minutes without feeling tired, watch my food intake, get into a solid workout routine and make sure my diet is healthy
amgant- My goals for February are to Exercise everyday, even if it is only 30 min on an treadmill and get under 180.
finncmh- See a loss on the scale. 4 days a week lifting. Cardio: by the end of the month be running between 1.5 and 2.0 miles straight. Continue to refine my eating. Really focus on finding a nice daily yoga routine for myself.
spellbinder25 - (1) Workout regularly, as much as I can, (2) Eat healthy. (Mental note: I AM NOT GOING BACK TO WHERE I STARTED!!), (3) Come up with a strength training plan for March onwards.
BFab24-lose 5lbs to get down to 185, non-scale goals: workout 4-5 days per week (at least 2 in the gym), eat healthy snacks at work, and to move into a new place
Happybunnysbabe57- My Goals on scale- lose 7lbs (or more) My Goals off scale- Workout 4 to 5 days a week, cook more healthy food options, and drink more water.
SeeCrystal - Lose 15lbs, increase workouts, eat at home more often and take a lunch to work - no cheating!
sweetmelissa22-to get to 33lbs lost total, and to go to the gym at least 3 times per week!

Wow...I take the day off from checking because I actually had to work today BOO!!! Oh well! Took my girls out to dinner tonight to celebrate my oldest's "good" report card and my youngest's "peeing on the potty" at school. Nothing fancy the local coney place...We usually go there every other Friday. Anyways...I was pondering what to get...in my "unhealthy" days I their omlettes! SO GOOD but so not healthy!! 3 eggs, american fried potatoes, toast...our waitress (same one that always waits on us) noticed that I staring at the omlettes on the menu and she said, "you know I can have him make it with egg whites or we do have egg beaters" I was so surprised that she made that comment! She then said, "I've been wanting to tell you for months how great you look and I know you have been eating healthy lately" She made my night!!! I ended up having an egg white omlette with peppers, mushrooms, and tomatoes. SO HAPPY!!!!

No work out today-rest day and HATE it because I'm always over on my rest days! Oh well...tomorrow is another day and wasn't over by much!

it's nice to see all the new faces on here...good luck and don't get too discouraged with how fast this thread moves!

Made some "snow cream" with my girls tonight as a snack...not sure how many calories are in it...only had a spoonful and it tasted like vanilla ice cream: 2 cups heavy whipping cream, 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar, 1 1/2 tsp vanilla, big bowl of clean snow. Mix first 3 ingredients together and then slowly stir in snow until thick and creamy...

Good night all...will check in and respond to all posts that I can tomorrow-I'm off to bed!!!

Melissa- Your waitress sounds awesome!!!!! I wouldn’t worry about being over on your rest days- I actually allot myself an extra 200 calories on mine- I actually think, in the long run it’s probably pretty good to be a bit over once in a while (after all, how many days are you under a little?). I know the red, angry numbers are disheartening, but I think if you are generally close on a rest day you’ve succeeded!

Seripha- I loooovee kung fuuuuuuuu!!!!! Sorry- your posts always make me so jealous. I want to take kung fu…a lot.

QOTD- I music, but I’m definitely more on the punk/alt rock. Actually, Foo Fighters and Breaking Benjamin have great warm up/cool down music, and I am absolutely LOVE Barenaked Ladies, Ben Folds Five and Alkaline Trio…so a bit off the beaten path.

Jlynch- make sure to get some walking and stretching in on your days at the bf’s- it will help you feel better for your WO on Monday. Good luck!

Lola- you make me suddenly glad that I take the subway everywhere…good luck with the car issues

Meag- I am so excited you are getting into yoga, I think it’s a great bit of variety for your routine!

Aly- way to keep your splurges under control! You are doing fab already!!

Nadine- 20k? Holy crap girl! I’m sure the picking at snacks will be accounted for!

Finn- What’s your running schedule look like? I’m just curious what your training looks like!

Jbars- My best advice is that you should pick 1 or two things to splurge on (a drink to nurse, and maybe some nachos or something). I like rum and diet soda- not to bad at around 60 or so cals (I would look it up to be sure). But just remember even if you get a bit out of control- bounce right back to it the next day- 1 day does not a ruination make!

New ladies, I cannot stress this enough- expectations and mentality are so, so, so crucial to this journey. Some have acknowledged that they are intentionally reaching high, but fully expect not to make their goals and just use those goals as a motivator. But for many, these goals are detrimental because if you don’t make them they are discouraging, but if you do make them, you are likely losing dangerously. We love to be supportive, but we are also all about healthy, consistent weight loss. Ok PSA over.

Hey ladies- I am back! Doctor appt got moved to next week, but I’m feeling pretty good. Laid low on the workouts this week, but stayed right around my calorie goals. I feel a bit lazy, but this week I really needed the relaxation physically, because I really pushed myself mentally and just don’t think I could have handled them both. Actually had a couple of Non-MFP victories this week- 1) FINALLY submitted my thesis proposal to my advisor (and registered for my class) and 2)I submitted copy for a book (you know the summary that goes on the back of the book, or on the inside of cover/flaps?) and my boss didn’t completely re-write it!! I know that doesn’t seem like a big deal (I mean it was like a paragraph) but it just is a bit of a turning point for me work-wise, so happiness.

Next week I plan to ease into my workouts and then pick my ½ marathon training back up just after Valentine’s day. Weigh in is tomorrow and I really think it’s going to be pretty good. So I’ll be back in the morning.
See you all in a little less than 12 hours!

Peace
~Gonks

~Radd... thanks for the suggestions. I ended up only having a banana for breakfast before the hike. But I ate a bunch of postachios after the first hour. When I got home I had a healthy lunch and I feel pretty good. Congrats on completeting all you goals.

~Melissa... I think its really awesome that you get other people to notice how well you are doing. I bet your excited to be able to go back there and not have to save calories to splurge while your there!~!~! Going out to celebrate shouldnt be hard on a healthy lifestyle.

~gonks... I hope your doc apt next week goes well. Take the weekend and relax some more, you deserve it. Next week will come to soon and we all know your gonna push yourself once monday comes! Happy Mental Health Day!~!~!

AFM.... ~ just got back from my first hike. (I would have commented for more ppl but thats all my mind can handle right now!~!) At the end of the hike it was a little more than 12K. We did it in 2.5 hours. I havent logged it in yet for excercise but I expect to be able to eat TONS tomorrow!~! The hike wasnt as hard as I thought it was gonna be. I guess I am doing better getting into shape than I thought. Today was my first physical acheivment I feel really good about since I started trying to get healthier. WOO HOOO!~~!~!~! I need to remember this feeling so I can use it as motivation later on.

Thanks for all your help guys!~!~!

~Melissa, your not TAKING UP space. Your worth the space plus some! Im glad you shared. It is really hard to keep all those thoughts and feelings in. I hope your hubbys apt goes well. I know you dad is looking down on you and is very proud of all the good choices you make everyday and all the hard work you put in to have a happy and healthy family. Keep your head up. Dont be sad, dads dont like when their little girls are sad.

QOTD - What is your ideal saturday?

Hmm, definitely not today! Since I'm in school during the week I work on saturdays, both jobs. I work as a housekeeper at the hospital (trying to apply for undergrad nurse there!!) and I also have a cleaning contract at a church. Today is my mom's birthday so we are going out for breakfast but then I need to go clean the church and then go to work for an evening shift at 3. I would like to get a work out in but it's hard to say if I will even have time..silly.

That wasn't the question though was it haha. My IDEAL Saturday would involve sleeping in, a good breakfast (healthy and tasty), a workout that was fun and different ( a class perhaps? maybe some swimming or step or something) and relaxing at home doing as I please. No frantic house cleaning, groceries, or paper writing. Just zen..

Sorry I didn't respond to anyone elses posts..kinda selfish here just checking in quick before I head out for breakfast. We're going to Cora's (www.chezcora.com), they have a lot of healthy "looking" food but no nutrition information available. It's all up to me to make a good choice and tomorrow is my weigh in day..eeek.

ttyl! (thats my first smiley!!)