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

Hey ladies and happy Monday! :bigsmile:

Life's been a bit crazy today - trying to get so much done before my wicked hectic weekend coming up. Lots of chores to do after my weekend away, made dinner for my parents since my mom's working out of town all week, went on my first really good run in a long time - the sun was out and I finally got to run in shorts and a t-shirt :drinker: and was actually sweating and felt warm for once, got my push-ups done, figured out my schedule for work on Thurs/Fri and caught up with a bunch of work/bank/mail stuff that I've been putting off. I feel really productive and good about how I spent my time today. I love having days like this. Not a moment wasted! :bigsmile:

I wanted to post some pics from my weekend (including a pic of my sweet new dress) but my bff forgot to send them to me last night and today she couldn't get a spare few mins at work to send them so it's going to have to wait. I'll take a picture of my dress as soon as I get a chance and post it for all to see. I definitely need some opinions on whether or not it's wedding appropriate - as I've said in the past, I have no clue what people wear to weddings so I hope it is but I could be wayyy off base. My girl friend assures me that it's totally fine but her taste is pretty suspect sometimes. :laugh: It's true.

My run today was fabulous and my splits were all under 10:00. I was so proud of myself! I wasn't anticipating a good run since it's been so long since I ran more than 5K and especially since running outdoors. I ran 2 weekends ago on a trail near Ty's new place, but otherwise it's been TM running for the last few months and even that has been sporadic. I walked my first and last 5 mins of a 55 min run, and managed to hit 4.75miles exactly in the 45mins that I ran (pace = 9:28). The best part was running and feeling strained, with a HR of about 170, but still feeling good and not wanting to quit. I just wanted to run :happy: Even when I could feel and hear laboured breathing and my legs were getting heavy I just put it all aside, got into the zone, and just ran. No quitting at all. It felt amazing. The sun beating down on me for once was definitely a nice chance, as well.

Food this weekend was hit and miss. I definitely took an EPIC break from clean eating and ate several things every day that I would never normally consume. The good news was that I didn't eat anything in excess. I moderated and I made healthy choices when they were available to me. Unfortunately when you're on the run, carbs tend to be the easiest/only option - so I definitely struggled with eating way more carbs than I normally would do, but I kept reminding myself that one weekend doesn't make or break the woman. It was tough, that's no lie, but I made it and I feel great today having gotten right back into routine :bigsmile:

That said I have to get going. Wish I could comment on all your posts but it will have to wait for later. I hope you guys have a GREAT Monday! You're doing fabulous!

Meag

hey ladies! :bigsmile: I've been up and out since 545am today and haven't had a chance to check in... looks like there's lots going on! I only have a few mins so here goes...

Space- I am really sorry to hear that you are struggling so much with this journey. The journey toward healthier living encompasses all aspects of our lives - physical, mental and emotional health - all of which require a great deal of effort, care and support from those around us. It's definitely important to have a safety net you can count on and for a lot of us this group provides that added padding where our RL friends and family just cannot fill the void. But we are not medical or mental health professionals and we cannot always be counted on for the kind of support that it sounds like you are searching for. I really truly wish you the best, but feel that it may be in your best interest to search outside this group - in your community or with your physician - for professional help to tackle some of your issues with weight, nutrition and self-image. This group is not meant as a substitute for that. It is only here as a safe place for young people to search out encouragement, support and friendship throughout their journey. It's important that this group makes everyone feel good about themselves and their progress, so I hope that the general air of positivity in this group continues and that you are able to take from it some motivation and inspiration to be good to yourself. :flowerforyou:

Megan - Your running plan sounds fabulous! Love your weekend runs idea :bigsmile: And so nice that your hubby and pooch could join you! That sounds just way adorable :bigsmile:

AFM - Had a freaking amazing day today! Shopping, sun, picnic lunch in a park, coffee on a patio with a friend, and super cheap whey isolate - Yay bargain shopping! It's been a long one though and I still have plenty to do before Tyler and I head out to a concert tonight so I better jet. Pictures still forthcoming. Bought another summer dress today so I'll include that one, as well!

Have a great Tuesday night, ladies!

I haven't checked in for a while, its nice seeing how good everyone is doing so far So I need some advice, the other day I decided to weigh myself to see my progress and it turns out my weight is still the same, but I've lost quite a few inches and can see definition/toning in my legs,stomach and arms. I was wondering, does muscle burn fat? Will I eventually lose weight?

Hrmmm Interesting question!

First of all - CONGRATS on losing inches, getting toned and feeling good about your progress with regards to fitness. If you are working out regularly, doing a good mix of cardio and strength, and really challenging yourself than there is no question that you should be seeing some definition appear and losing inches. You are altering your body composition - but a net weight loss is not always a part of that.

There are really several ways to "attack" this journey. The most common is strictly weight loss at any cost and through restrictive dieting (almost exclusively). This does work and I'm not going to knock it - I know it works because it's how I managed to lose a good portion of my initial weight. Over time, I've realized that this method didn't result in the type of body I wanted to achieve and it did very little for my body composition and physical fitness(again, personal preference). By trying to lose weight without toning and weight training, my body was actually depleting my muscle stores to feed itself and to fuel up for long, hard cardio sessions once I started running.

Another less common but more balanced approach would be to tackle weight loss and body composition in tandem. It's less common because truthfully it requires a lot more work. One has to be diligent about what they eat in terms of maintaining adequate nutrition, fueling for workouts, and staying within/around their BMR intake while simultaneously dedicating time and energy to cardio and strengthening exercises multiple times a week. This method works really well for several reasons: a) building lean muscle does help to burn fat over time - the more lean muscle mass your body has, the more efficiently it runs, and the more fuel it can and will burn; b) strength training does burn calories, so you're still getting a burn while you're at it ; c) switching up your exercises keeps your body guessing, which promotes consistent and steady weight loss as well as shaping and toning the body you have; d) fueling properly throughout the duration of your weight loss period helps you train harder, recover faster, and keeps your body from going into survival mode. It also helps you ease into a maintenance lifestyle, which (as you can tell from my own struggles) can be one of the most difficult parts of this journey. If you're putting on lean muscle while you are losing fat, your body comp is bound to change to a much greater degree than your perceived weight loss. It's a qualitative loss, instead of a quantitative one.

I guess the real question is - What matters more, looking and feeling good, lowering your body fat % and thus your susceptibility to heart disease, diabetes, and other maladies, and gaining confidence in your fitness and ability; or being able to quantify your loss in terms of #s on the scale? I know the scale can seem like the be all end all sometimes and we just desperately want to see a loss, but ask yourself whyyy such a loss matters when you know you've lost inches, toned up, and you are fitter than you were when you started. Only you and you alone know how much weight you've lost. Everyone else just notices the other stuff.

Oh and yea - you should see a loss on the scale. It just takes time. Just sayin' A loss on the scale shouldn't define your journey. Be proud of your accomplishment so far!!

AFM - Long long long day but so good. Concert was a total bust tonight but we made the most of our time together anyway. Lots to do tomorrow in preparation for my Thurs/Fri from hell. Working Thurs 430pm-3am and then Fri 11am-3am. That's 10 1/2 hours followed by a straight 16 hours the next day. Only 8 hours to rest between shifts, but that includes a 1 1/2 hour commute each way :ohwell: Saturday is going to be a MAJOR rest day! Did I mention that I was working on my feet the entire time? Ugh! Anyway I am going to be completely absentee from Thurs afternoon until Sat or Sun, I assume. May pop on for a min but otherwise I'll be out of town working. So get your questions in now :laugh: Or just eagerly await my return.

In other news, I got a sweet sunburn today. I know I shouldn't be happy about it because it's really bad for your skin, but it's a constant source of heat and for that reason alone I love it! They don't bother me in the slightest, actually. Bring on the burn!

Speaking of, I am notorious for chasing the burn! Thankfully my watch doesn't show my total burn until I've completed my activity and allowed it to calculate my recovery HR. It's a damn good thing because otherwise I'd be checking constantly. We just all need reminders once in a while about why we're doing this and what we are getting out of healthy living. When the burn count isn't as important anymore, what motivation will you have to get out there and be active? Hope you've got something because those days are fast approaching!

QOTD - I snack constantly! Fruit (!!), fresh veggies, plain yogurt, protein brownies, edamame beans, popcorn (w/ choc and cinnamon yum!), ice cream .... basically whatever I can find! :blushing: NOM! This is making me hungry just to think about...

Off to bed for now. I'm going to take those pics tomorrow for sure. Talk to you lovelies ASAP. Have a GREAT hump day! Get it started out right with a good breakfast and attack the day with a positive attitude. Doesn't hurt to feel like you're going to kill it before even getting out of bed