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

Oh my goodness... It's already Mar 30th! And for the first month in a while, we haven't quite made it to a second thread. I guess things have really petered off here. Ah well.

April's a fresh start, and hopefully some of us (ahem ME ahem) can get back on track and regain some motivation and dedication. I continue to log and am still wildly addicted to MFP, but for the most part just stick to my news feed, profile, and food/exercise logs. The forums are just bustling with nonsense and bad advice so for the most part I steer clear. It's been tough keeping up with this thread, especially since things seem pretty uneventful as of late, but I am committed to livening it up again in April so I hope you guys join me :bigsmile:

As for me... The foot is really giving me a hard time lately. It's been extremely sore and resisting any form of exercise or even just normal physical activity. Working on my feet is definitely not helping matters. Unfortunately, quitting my job presently is not a viable option (although boy do I wish it was...). I am trying to do as little as possible on my foot and to treat is kindly, but it's very tough. Lately I've been struggling a lot with snacking on terrible foods, eating too much ice cream, and generally just not being as "clean" as I would like food-wise, which generally would be manageable but it is leaving me very concerned about the state of my body composition and in fear that while my weight may stay constant I am in the process of losing muscle and regaining fat... Not sure how much truth there is to this, and maybe it's in my head, but I feel like I can notice my body already getting a little flabbier and losing some tone and definition. It worries me. I worked soooo hard to get to where I am at now (and still have plenty of room for improvement) and I'd hate to see myself regress because of this foot injury. My goal was to feel really good about my body by the summer so I could don a swimsuit without too much of a "EWWWW Gross!!!!" factor in my head - and this regression is really putting a wrench in my plans. Frustrating.

As it stands now, no running, no weights classes (Monday's Body Flex was a terrible idea), no cycling, limited Arc Training (max 15-20 mins), and yoga once a week. Potential for swimming when I can fit it in and get the proper gear. Trying to stick with 1600 calories a day, which I am sure seems like a TON to most people but is actually quite a challenge for me. Still haven't had a SINGLE packet of sweetener in 30 days (!!) which is an epic feat. And maintaining under 130lbs - most likely up a few lbs this Friday on account of my eating this week.

I'll be checking in tomorrow and Friday and posting the new April Challenge Friday morning around 330am EST when I get home from work. A bit late, but it's the best I can do. Either that or I'll post it before work, but I will likely be rushing to get to work on time so I doubt that's going to be possible (I'm always running late...). Please check the forums for the new thread - i'll post a link here as well as in my news feed and it would be great if you guys could do the same, spread the word, and we can regain some momentum lost in March!

Megan - WOW! :drinker: Fantastic effort and accomplishment! 3 miles is incredible girl! Your co-worker was kind to say that... But honestly, some runs will be harder. Much harder. The good thing is knowing now that you CAN do it, so that mental block can be done away with forever. Some runs are just plain harder than others - either because we're fatigued, sore, stressed, distracted, or just because some days are bad running days, for whatever reason. None the less, now you know it can be done and that's all that matters. Next up - 3.1 miles non-stop! That's 5K woman! WOOT!

Tara - Fingers crossed for your weigh-in today! No matter what the scale says, you totally rock this healthy living thing and your progress has been phenomenal. Make sure you keep your eyes on the end goal and the long term. You are doing great!

Spell - Our bodies do crazy things... Last week I didn't run or work out hardly at all, and I lost 3.5lbs :noway: It's just nonsense. I'd say it's likely because our muscles retain water when we're really working out hard and let go of that water retention once we rest for several days in a row. Our bodies are basically in "standby" mode. Things should even out for you soon. Get some strength training done and start feeling strong and powerful again! :bigsmile: You've got this lady!

Lola - Staying motivated is hard work - Try to be your own best coach and motivator, set your goals and post them somewhere, and continually remind yourself of why this is important to you. Could also be helpful to figure out exactly what you stand to gain from exercising, emotionally and physically. I tend to just not consider not working out - I schedule it in and don't allow anything to get in my way. It's a non-issue. There is NO skipping workouts. It's like a job for me. That doesn't work for everything but hey, it gets my *kitten* moving so no complaints! :happy: Don't worry about your March goals too much - As long as you're moving forward, you're doing things right. Keep it up!

Meag