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

Everyone seems to have some great goals! So great to see this group moving so quickly again and to see everyone so enthusiastic and inspired. A special thanks to Meag for keeping this going and for coming up with such a great opening for the rest first post. PERFECT!

Advice for anyone new and overwhelmed by how fast the thread can move some days:
Don’t get overwhelmed and leave! Just do what you can in posting when you can. Some days and weeks are better than others. Sometimes its really fast on here and other days no one posts for 12+ hours. Its all good!

Also, my trick is to read through posts whenever I can, but when I am ready to actually respond to everyone I open a word document and start typing responses in there and then just copy and paste the whole list over. Hope this helps! Enjoy the group!!!

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Shannon- sounds like you already have a great plan for being at your parents. I LOVE reading your blog posts about your C25k experience… definitely can relate to a lot of what you say in them. You are doing an INCREDIBLE job with the running stick with it!

Tara- cant wait to hear how your how your WI went and Im looking forward to your new goals. You always have really good ones!

Alwhisler- like your running goals and I TOTALLY know that in between pants size business… BLEGH! Doesn’t help that everywhere you go they are sized differently too!

Natalie- welcome aboard. This is a group full of soon to be brides and newly engaged. We also have the resident wedding planning gurus in here too. So I am sure you will hear lots of fun ideas. I am getting married October 1 this year. EEEK! Just have fun with it and congratulations!!!

Leela- great job getting your goals in on Sun!

Sarahmay- great job on the goals they are perfect. Everyone has different things that motivate them!

Rai- your quotes make me giggle. Glad that they are helping motivate you. As for your rough day I wish I had the answer. The only thing I can say is keep working on finding something else you enjoy that you can do to relieve stress instead of turning to food. One day at a time lady. You have a lot on your plate right now just deep breaths and one day at a time.

Megan- DEFINITELY strength training. Just don’t be discouraged if the scale starts to move a little differently. Like me last month I didn’t lose any weight but I dropped 10 inches overall. I think a good balance of strength training with your running will be great! Still waiting for that 5k for you!!! Tee hee. Not going to stop harassing you until you do it
Eleanoreeb- love the not dodging idea! And congrats on the PR!!!

MamaMango- welcome to the group. Looks like you have some intense fitness goals- I like that!

Jyopchick- water is definitely a big factor. Welcome to the group!

Crystal- plateaus are the worst ESPECIALLY when you are sitting right at the bottom of a weight range… I am currently trying to get out of the 190’s so I know the feeling! Gl this month!

Lisa- welcome to the group! May is going to be a GREAT month for everyone- I can feel it!

Guam- so glad that you had that heart to heart with your brother and you guys are there for each other with all these moves. I know that its been super stressful for you recently so its good to hear that you have that support system. Fingers crossed on the room!

Aly- sounds like you have a great plan! So great to see you so excited for your wedding. My boss swears by acupuncture. He had limes and it attacked his neural system and he has been doing acupuncture for over a year now and loves it!

Em- just focus on you and this special time with your soon to be hubby. You are gorgeous and going to make a beautiful bride. Just live this time up and enjoy yourself!!!! I LOVE LOVE LOVE your goal. Best one I have seen in a while and I think its perfect for you right now. Cant wait to see some pics!!!

Alexis- glad you are back!!!! How is your 10k training going? Love hearing about everyones running plans now that I have gotten so in to it!

k_ewilliams- welcome to the group!

Spell- sounds like april was still pretty good for you! I would call those some great successes. You ready for the WD in AUGUST!!! Woot woot!

Nausicaa- just glad you are still around and working it. Do the best you can with posting! We’ll be here!

Meag- what else can I say except so glad that you are still here and working on your now. You hit everything on the nail with the toughness of working on the emotional stuff now too. You will figure this out and its just all part of the ride I guess. Keep on trucking lady!
Love the making each day great!

McBody- welcome welcome! I like the rest on rest days… it is SOOOO important and sometimes its hard to remember. I have been working on lowering my 5k time for a race in june but I am running in one this weekend also and I am supposed to rest fri and sat before and its def going to be tough but important. Another July baby doing to the flip side of twenties right here!

Melissa- Meag said it all! You’re determination and attitude towards running are definitely inspiring! I love reading about your PRs and new times (especially now that I actually understand what they mean) Loved the little story about your ex! Hee hee

Kan- so so happy to see you loving yourself and giving yourself a chance to try new things even though they are scary. You really are doing a great job!

Carro- NEVER too late! Welcome aboard!

SpaceCoconaut- First and foremost welcome to the group. I know that a lot of people have been responding to your goals. Just please keep in mind that anything anyone says on here is out of concern and compassion. We are a really close tight nit group and really want to support each other as best as possible. There will always be people that don’t agree with each others methods but we can still support one another. I hope that you read what each person says and then decide what is best for you. However, there were some really good points in a few of the ladies responses. Especially from several who have struggled through disordered eating issues. An approach like the one you are taking to the scale works for some people but it can also be all consuming and the idea is to get healthy both physically and mentally. I hope that as you get involved with this group you can work on some other non-scale/non-measurement goals that will motivate you.

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AFM- tomorrow marks one week of upping my calories. We shall see what happens. I am not going to stress it after tomorrow though because I know my body will take time to get used to it. Other than that things have been good. Just busy. I have been following my running plan and got in my push-ups/squats Monday. Today is day two.
Yesterday, I got to run around on my day off and picked up the beginnings of some stuff for the wedding decorations. This is the fun part that I have been waiting for! So now I am starting to get more excited about it and less overwhelmed! My May 5k is this weekend with my mom so that is pretty exciting. Other than that nothing new to report!

-Cait

Cait- I signed up for an all women's 5k that is on June 25. So don't you worry its happening!

Space- I don't mean to say that your weight doesn't go up at the end of the day and is lower in the morning- indeed it is, that is the natural process of what happens in a day. I meant to say that the 26 lbs you want to lose didn't come on overnight (i.e. in a week or two) so the thought that in a week or two (or 3 based on your minimum experiment length) will be enough is not necessairly true. I did not mean in any way to discredit the 6.5 lbs you have lost over the past few days. For me personally dropping my lbs slow and steady is working and while the journey may seem like a long one to do it that way, its more realistic for me. And I wasn't trying to say that you should stop, I was just trying to say that you should evaluate the methods you are using to drop weight so quickly, make sure they are healthy, and also spend time really thinking about why you put on weight in the first place. No matter my personal opinion, it's your health, body and life and the final decision is up to you. I am very glad that you are really happy right now and I hope you continue to find happiness. I am sorry if you felt I was putting you down, that is the exact opposite of what I was trying to do.

Updating with Yvalcaraz!. Yolanda glad you came back to the group. And staying active on the thread is a great goal (it was one of mine last month) so I am going to include it on here for you.

Leela30: comment more on this month's challenge; eat at least 80g of protein a day
Believeinmagic: To lose 13 pounds; eat more vegetables and do more strength training
Meggonkgonk: To reach 133lbs; to run my 10k course at least 1x, Run my 4m run at 9:30
Allie7383:get out of the 150's finally, continue with the 30 Day Shred, work on increasing my running distance, and overall feeling good about myself!
SpaceCoconaut: To lose 2-3 lbs a week and stick to my experiment.
Shannonaufman: lose 4 pounds to hit 169. Drink 64+ ounces of water 25/30 days. Finish C25K. Start One Hour Runner. Stick with 30DS.
~KanCrav~ Reach 143, Jog at least 3 times outside,follow WO schedule, incorporate Low GI foods into my diet.
rai8759: GW 160.4, One day off per week (tracking food), WI on Friday, JM should kick my *kitten* 5-6 days a week, Cardio 3-5 days a week x 20-30 min., Tracking every day except day off, Eat less processed sugar
wardiemelissa (Melissa)-continue to maintain weight between 120-125 lbs; exercise routine 5 days running, 2 days strength, 1 day rest (long run 10+miles on Sundays), continue to test out new recipes (including new fruits and veggies), and making more time for my family, AND try to post at least ONCE a day!!!
pixycats: lose 5 pounds, continue C210K at least 3/week, stay under calorie goal 6/week, rest one day/week
finncmh- not focus on the scale loss! keep working on running plan that I came up with for the 5k in June. Start the push-up and squat 6 week challenge
lostalykat- To get back to 169 by June 1st. Work on headache prevention and be mindful of what I am doing and eating. Focus on my new training plan and enjoy life. Stress less, yoga more!
WannabRN10- get out of the 160's!!! Work out at least 3 days a week (piloxing class, hot yoga class, and weights class). Eat Dairy Queen only twice (it is my fav!). Stay in a positive mind set and not get over-stressed with school.
alwhisler-Increase my run to 45 minutes non-stop, get down to that lower pant size instead of being in-between
sarahmay25- Complete an ab circuit every day of the week except rest day, and decrease my finish time of a mile by the end of every week.
mkingraham (Megan)- get down to 208, strength train at least 2 times a week, run 3 times a week
eleanoreb (Eleanore or El) - improve 10k run time, stay in bottom part of weight range, face food head on and not give in to temptations (rather than just avoid)
MamaMango: Lose 7 pounds,keep my portions under control, do HIIT 3 times a week,strength train moderate-heavy 5 times a week,do some form of low to moderate cardio every other day,eat more fresh greens and less starch and grains!
jyopchick: get back to 130lbs, only allowed one day to go over cals (and within reason), and MORE WATER!!
crystalfaith: continue to workout at least 4 times a week, drink tons of water, finish the C25k program, and break into the 140s
LisaRid - lose 10 lbs, drink 8 glasses of water each day, exercise 4x per week, and curb my dessert eating. May is the month!!!
emmarie- do the best I can!
shelsab-keep up my 10k running schedule, lose 5lbs, strength training 2x week, 3 yoga classes.
k_ewilliams - log in everyday and keep out of the red, lose at least 5 pounds, run 3x a week
spellbinder25: (1) Lose 4lbs to reach 133.5, (2) Do 30 Day Shred 5 times/week, (3) Count calories everyday, (4) Update on this thread at least twice a week.
meagalayne - get back into my maintenance range and stay there, log food no more than 5 days/week, complete weeks 2 and 3 of the push-up challenge, make it to 4 spin classes, increase H2O consumption, and find ways make each day great!
nausicaa11-lose 6 pounds and try to reach the 8km/h mark on the treadmill.
McBody- actually rest on rest days; incorporate yoga; get back on a running schedule for race
carro585-workout 4x/week, average less than 200 beverage cal./day, don't fall too far off the wagon while on vacation
yvalcaraz-(Yolanda)- Run for 3 miles w/o stopping, lose 8lbs, 1000 sit-ups 3x wk, post at least once a week to the group

soooo tired. I am going to comment on the everyone when I wake up, but right now, I just cant do it!~!~! I need to get out my day so I dont go to be feeling sorry for myself and ruin tomorrow too.

I've been having some issures with my birth control or my body, no way to be sure right away. I started getting cramps yesterday morning which is day 14 of my pill cycle. The cramps were so bad that I felt like I had to sit on the toilet and wait til something happend (srry i kno, TMI) Anyway yesterday was horrible with clotting and all the cramps and bloating. And This is the fourth month this has happend!~!~! My period starts on week three and continues for the next 14 days. IDK!~!!~!~!!!~~! This time it was horrible though, just horrible, today too. So I went to the doctor today and got a different pilll to start after this cycle. I am really getting tired of this. Its sooo frustrating. To make things even more fun I am on two different depression meds at the same time. There are tons of warnings for me not to take them together so I have to take them at oposite times of the day, but its still making me really jittery and nervous. Yesterday I was so nervous and shakey that I thought I was going to throw up. I am thinking of just taking myself off the one cuz I have to wait so long to see my psych, But I know I should let her know what I want to do so she can get me off them the right way. Uhhh, so frustrating. When I get so jittery and nervous all I want to do is shove food in my face!~! I want to try to exercise the feeling away but my heart beats for fast that I dont want to do anything to increase it.

Ok, im done with my rant. Thanks for listening. Now that I got it all out I can just continue day by day and let the cards fall as they may.

Cait I promise to talk to someone before I stop one of my meds!~!~! ProMiSE

(thanks for sharing)

Kandance: that sounds horrible. I hope your doctor can find you some help. Mixing medications is tricky, even doctors don't know how the mixture will react in your body. Just take it easy ok? We don't need you injuring yourself trying to workout.

kat: Congrats on losing the gain! It still counts as a loss! lol

QOTD: Favorite color = blue.. All shades

Wow, I'm already way behind for May. BUMP....

Leela30: comment more on this month's challenge; eat at least 80g of protein a day
Believeinmagic: To lose 13 pounds; eat more vegetables and do more strength training
Meggonkgonk: To reach 133lbs; to run my 10k course at least 1x, Run my 4m run at 9:30
Allie7383:get out of the 150's finally, continue with the 30 Day Shred, work on increasing my running distance, and overall feeling good about myself!
SpaceCoconaut: To lose 2-3 lbs a week and stick to my experiment.
Shannonaufman: lose 4 pounds to hit 169. Drink 64+ ounces of water 25/30 days. Finish C25K. Start One Hour Runner. Stick with 30DS.
~KanCrav~ Reach 143, Jog at least 3 times outside,follow WO schedule, incorporate Low GI foods into my diet.
rai8759: GW 160.4, One day off per week (tracking food), WI on Friday, JM should kick my *kitten* 5-6 days a week, Cardio 3-5 days a week x 20-30 min., Tracking every day except day off, Eat less processed sugar
wardiemelissa (Melissa)-continue to maintain weight between 120-125 lbs; exercise routine 5 days running, 2 days strength, 1 day rest (long run 10+miles on Sundays), continue to test out new recipes (including new fruits and veggies), and making more time for my family, AND try to post at least ONCE a day!!!
pixycats: lose 5 pounds, continue C210K at least 3/week, stay under calorie goal 6/week, rest one day/week
finncmh- not focus on the scale loss! keep working on running plan that I came up with for the 5k in June. Start the push-up and squat 6 week challenge
lostalykat- To get back to 169 by June 1st. Work on headache prevention and be mindful of what I am doing and eating. Focus on my new training plan and enjoy life. Stress less, yoga more!
WannabRN10- get out of the 160's!!! Work out at least 3 days a week (piloxing class, hot yoga class, and weights class). Eat Dairy Queen only twice (it is my fav!). Stay in a positive mind set and not get over-stressed with school.
alwhisler-Increase my run to 45 minutes non-stop, get down to that lower pant size instead of being in-between
sarahmay25- Complete an ab circuit every day of the week except rest day, and decrease my finish time of a mile by the end of every week.
mkingraham (Megan)- get down to 208, strength train at least 2 times a week, run 3 times a week
eleanoreb (Eleanore or El) - improve 10k run time, stay in bottom part of weight range, face food head on and not give in to temptations (rather than just avoid)
MamaMango: Lose 7 pounds,keep my portions under control, do HIIT 3 times a week,strength train moderate-heavy 5 times a week,do some form of low to moderate cardio every other day,eat more fresh greens and less starch and grains!
jyopchick: get back to 130lbs, only allowed one day to go over cals (and within reason), and MORE WATER!!
crystalfaith: continue to workout at least 4 times a week, drink tons of water, finish the C25k program, and break into the 140s
LisaRid - lose 10 lbs, drink 8 glasses of water each day, exercise 4x per week, and curb my dessert eating. May is the month!!!
emmarie- do the best I can!
shelsab-keep up my 10k running schedule, lose 5lbs, strength training 2x week, 3 yoga classes.
k_ewilliams - log in everyday and keep out of the red, lose at least 5 pounds, run 3x a week
spellbinder25: (1) Lose 4lbs to reach 133.5, (2) Do 30 Day Shred 5 times/week, (3) Count calories everyday, (4) Update on this thread at least twice a week.
meagalayne - get back into my maintenance range and stay there, log food no more than 5 days/week, complete weeks 2 and 3 of the push-up challenge, make it to 4 spin classes, increase H2O consumption, and find ways make each day great!
nausicaa11-lose 6 pounds and try to reach the 8km/h mark on the treadmill.
McBody- actually rest on rest days; incorporate yoga; get back on a running schedule for race
carro585-workout 4x/week, average less than 200 beverage cal./day, don't fall too far off the wagon while on vacation
yvalcaraz-(Yolanda)- Run for 3 miles w/o stopping, lose 8lbs, 1000 sit-ups 3x wk, post at least once a week to the group
tjradd73(Tara)- to lose -5.4lbs to put me at 100lbs lost total, 8 cups H20/day, 3 days of my strength plan, 3 days of cardio, no more than 4 days over on my cals, and >20 under on my sodium.

@mkingraham: I can't find a middle between slow and fast weight lost. Only fast has worked for me. I generally have to keep my calories pretty darn low just to maintain my weight. My doctor could never figure out why I gained on 1200 cals a day. The reason I gained weight in the first place was because of a medication I took, not of growing bad habits or anything. I finally was able to get off the medication last week just until I could lose this weight. Maybe that's why I'm dropping weight so fast this soon. I really don't know, but I'm happy with the results. And this actually works for me. I don't know. Thinking about eating more makes me sick.

I actually doubled the calories I ate today and I got really sick. I just don't really like eating anything other than salads.

I am not sure if I can handle this for much longer

Handle what?

I am not sure if I can handle this for much longer

aww hun whats wrong? Hang in there whatever it is and smile its a beautiful day!

I'm happy with the past few days. I've got my abs workout in every day at least 10 min, but I'm working for more time! But I haven't started running yet, so that's a work in progress...

Dear Kick *kitten* Crew,

I have missed this thread a lot - I can't believe that I was gone all of April (and some of March if I remember correctly!) :frown: I am in my final semester of college (and now, my final month, omgomgomg!!!!) and stress hit the fan and there were a lot of things that had to give within the past few months. Unfortunately, the gym and logging were two of them. I also switched a class to P/F because I could not keep up with the work - which is something that is unheard of for me. A saving grace is the yoga class that I enrolled in through our Health and Exercise Science department - if I don't go, I get an F on my transcript, so I have been forced to dedicate at least 3 hours a week to my body.

Braved the scale for the first time in about 2 months, and I found out that I essentially maintained during this whole time. Although I'm not as far along in my weight loss journey as I had wanted, this is a HUGE success for me! That I can make decisions that are driven by convenience and stress while not having MFP to keep me accountable and MAINTAIN is really good. I CAN be accountable to myself without the MFP middleman. This is giving me hope that when I get to my goal weight, I will be able to stay there!

Yesterday I logged everything for the first time in about a month. Went over by about 200, but I made mostly healthy choices (mainly because I have no more junk food in my apartment). I've got an awards/honors dinner tonight (complete with really, really awesome desserts) so today's logging will be a total guess - but it's better than nothing, I suppose.

In any case, my May goal is mainly finishing and passing my thesis (and fitting all my stuff into my car when I move out). I defend in 2 weeks and I am still writing :noway: Officially terrified!! I'm also going to make an effort to cook dinner more often than I have been.

you all!!
Meredith