NTHG 2-week challenge

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  • sunshine79
    sunshine79 Posts: 758 Member
    Daily check in:

    - workout = I managed to get my 3rd strength session in for the week - yay :happy: :happy: :happy:
    - protein = I'm unsure today as I ended up eating out which was unplanned???? Tomorrow I will do better with the food.:angry:

    How you all getting on ladies?

    Congrats, sunshine- I'm sure you chose a nice proteinaceous meal at the restaurant. I haven't had any sugar except what is in fruit so far an though I picked up a bag of chips at the store I put it down. I did eat a sample tortilla chip at the store cause I forgot :embarassed: doing well on calories, I think I'm better off not eating exercise cals and just having an average calorie range to shoot for

    @cutmd - " I did eat a sample tortilla chip at the store cause I forgot" LOL this made me laugh but I know exactly what you mean.

    I totally understand about not eating back exercise calories, I think different things work for each of us because we're all different.

    I'm going to aim for a sugar free day today (apart from fruit) let's see how that goes.

    Have a fabulous Saturday:drinker: :drinker: :drinker:
  • cutmd
    cutmd Posts: 1,168 Member
    Ok I am on my overnight shift and starving, the only thing around was chips, so I ate some. I confess! I made myself count extra cals for it :cry:
  • nab22
    nab22 Posts: 168
    Checking in:

    Eating clean - going really well each day until about 7pm... I don't know how to fix this! My fiance's mom sent a little goodie box with candy and for some reason, once the clock strikes 7, I give myself license to eat as much as I can before I fall asleep. Might be a trigger food... That and cereal. I guess I should just throw it all out, what do you guys think? I hate throwing stuff away :/

    No alcohol - not going well at all. Hey I'm only 24. I keep doing fun things, like last night there was a bluegrass concert in the grass in downtown and it was 100 deg out and a beer sounded really nice :) so did the glass of wine later too.

    I was going to ask if anyone uses any books to come up with strength training routines, or how you guys think them up?? I saw some people talking about the NROLFW book, but I read some reviews that said there's a lot of filler material, and one of the authors' wives is Rachel Cosgrove and I've already read lots of her filler material! Any other good sources for routines?? Thanks!

    Keep up the good work!
  • nab22
    nab22 Posts: 168
    I just noticed that although the scale has actually been moving up, I have less cellulite on my butt! Sorry if that's too much info, but that was one of my goals! Still a work in progress, but at least there's progress.

    I had so little butt muscle that even a normal amount of fat looked bad. But now, even though the amount of fat may be the same (hopefully not), I actually have muscle under there supporting it!

    Good job me!
  • Stephinow
    Stephinow Posts: 273
    Keep up the good work, nab22! You're doing something right.

    My challenges:
    No alcohol - haven't touched the stuff...lol. As I was driving home yesterday, I passed by the store where I would normally stop and grab my bottle of wine for the weekend, but I didn't. I just drove right past. There's always another weekend, right?

    Sleeping 7-8 hours a night - My son's feeling better so for the past couple of nights I've been able to get to bed early and sleep all night. YaY! Feels good.

    I completed day 5 of Ripped this morning. Tomorrow is my rest day and then off to level 2 for next week.

    Keep it up, ladies!
  • Rogiefreida
    Rogiefreida Posts: 567 Member
    I think this challenge is making everyone much aware of what needs to be worked on, whether it's nutrition or exercise. I can already see and feel a difference and it's a positive one!! After the Zumbathon tonight, they had cookies and brownies and I stayed away becuase I know sugar is my downfall. I saw them turned around and walked the other way, lol!! Disaster avoided!

    Sunshine -great job getting the 3rd day in!

    cutmd - great job putting the chips down!!!

    Keep at it ladies!

    I love Zumbathons! My instructor feeds us almonds and dried fruit instead of cookies and brownies, but then everyone has the option of heading over to an afterparty at the local Country Club (so substitute booze instead of brownies):drinker:

    Glad to see everyone doing well on their goals! I am proud to report that I did fit in my 3 strength training sessions this week, even after driving 160 miles round trip to see my bestie get married on Tuesday, and going on an impromtu dinner date with the hubby on Wednesday. And, I have not gone to the evil coffee stand once this week! :bigsmile: Everyone keep the good work and have a great weekend! I'm off to catch fresh Salmon from the Columbia River.
  • nab22
    nab22 Posts: 168
    I think this challenge is making everyone much aware of what needs to be worked on, whether it's nutrition or exercise. I can already see and feel a difference and it's a positive one!! After the Zumbathon tonight, they had cookies and brownies and I stayed away becuase I know sugar is my downfall. I saw them turned around and walked the other way, lol!! Disaster avoided!

    Sunshine -great job getting the 3rd day in!

    cutmd - great job putting the chips down!!!

    Keep at it ladies!

    I love Zumbathons! My instructor feeds us almonds and dried fruit instead of cookies and brownies, but then everyone has the option of heading over to an afterparty at the local Country Club (so substitute booze instead of brownies):drinker:

    Glad to see everyone doing well on their goals! I am proud to report that I did fit in my 3 strength training sessions this week, even after driving 160 miles round trip to see my bestie get married on Tuesday, and going on an impromtu dinner date with the hubby on Wednesday. And, I have not gone to the evil coffee stand once this week! :bigsmile: Everyone keep the good work and have a great weekend! I'm off to catch fresh Salmon from the Columbia River.

    Are you from Oregon/Washington? I'm from Oregon
  • sunshine79
    sunshine79 Posts: 758 Member
    Saturday check in. Firstly well done to everyone for posting and working hard at achieving their daily goals.

    I thought I had a bad food day today but turns out it wasn't that bad. I was also feeling very 'uncomfortable' with having a rest day today as I seem to be obsessed with being active but I stuck to my plan and did not exercise. I will however been up nice and early in the morning for spin class:happy: :happy: :happy:

    Still didn't mange to reach my protein goal but that's my own fault as I had no food in the house - silly me.

    I was out of the house for longer than expected so I had to buy something to eat - I opted for a piece of home-cooked chicken for a jamaican restaurant - protein.

    I am planning my food for tomorrow now seeing as i have the right foods in the house. need to plan for my protein intake.

    Enjoy the rest of your weekend.
  • amysj303
    amysj303 Posts: 5,086 Member
    Checking in:

    Eating clean - going really well each day until about 7pm... I don't know how to fix this! My fiance's mom sent a little goodie box with candy and for some reason, once the clock strikes 7, I give myself license to eat as much as I can before I fall asleep. Might be a trigger food... That and cereal. I guess I should just throw it all out, what do you guys think? I hate throwing stuff away :/

    No alcohol - not going well at all. Hey I'm only 24. I keep doing fun things, like last night there was a bluegrass concert in the grass in downtown and it was 100 deg out and a beer sounded really nice :) so did the glass of wine later too.

    I was going to ask if anyone uses any books to come up with strength training routines, or how you guys think them up?? I saw some people talking about the NROLFW book, but I read some reviews that said there's a lot of filler material, and one of the authors' wives is Rachel Cosgrove and I've already read lots of her filler material! Any other good sources for routines?? Thanks!

    Keep up the good work!
    Have I mentioned KISS? That is what I am doing, 3 days per week. I did the cardio yesterday but it is only 30 secs of mountain climbers, 30 secs of jacks, 30 secs rest and did it 6 times. Each week I add a set apparently.
    http://figureathlete.t-nation.com/article/training/kiss_bodybuilding_workouts_goodbye&cr=/p90X
    Off to do week 2 day 3. The only thing I really need at the gym is the stability ball, but it's good to get me there and focused...
    Food was ok, I was dinking yesterday but made pretty good food choices.
  • Better_Balance_2011
    Better_Balance_2011 Posts: 3,711 Member
    Hey everyone. I've been a little MIA as I am on vacation at my sister's. I didn't do too bad considering. Monday I did KISS, Tuesday nothing b/c I had a late meeting, Wednesday I ran a couple miles, Thursday I got some walking in at the airport and lifted my 2 year old niece up the ladder about 100 times :). Friday I went for a walk/run in m sister's neighborhood and found a botanical gardens with a bunch of trails, so ended up walking/hiking/runnin about an hour. Yesterday I helped spread a bunch of mulch and other yard work and bured about 700 calories! I have somewhat been tracking and haven't done too bad. I think I may go walk/run in a little bit and then it's sun and book time for me on my last day of vacation. Enjoy the rest of the weekend ladies!
  • amysj303
    amysj303 Posts: 5,086 Member
    DId KISS Saturday. Finding the KISS stuff pretty easy to fit into my schedule but nothing else. Not great on the protein either! I don't know how people do it consistently, I would have to snack on grilled chicken breast all afternoon!
    Week one is almost over, how did it go for everyone? What are you doing to stay on track this week?
    I got my lazy self to the store and made a crustless quiche to have for breakfast and salad and grilled chicken breast to have for lunch. Dinner will be more of a challenge. Having Mexican tomorrow, but I could do fajitas and keep it to one tortilla. I can't go to La Loma and not have a tortilla!
    After that I can do more dinner at home. Definitely have steak on the menu this week! yum, maybe with sweet potato.
  • cutmd
    cutmd Posts: 1,168 Member
    Sounds like everyone is doing great! I agree with you asjerven, it's like your day has to be completely clean to get your protein in without going over on everything else.

    I am doing ok, no more relapses since the cool doritos incident. I am fasting for 24 hours, only 8 hours to go (on an overnight shift). Hopefully I will get cheese out of my system and start to rebuild my diet without it, LOL. I am also averaging pretty well on the higher calories (but not eating the exercise ones), I find I am more balanced in not overdoing my cardio when I already know it won't earn me any extra calories. However no weight loss so far and still with swelling. Maybe cause I stopped my birth control?
  • shander7
    shander7 Posts: 613 Member
    Week 1 wasn't so great for me :( I didn't end up doing any strength work outs! I was planning on doing them while I stayed at my boyfriend's house this weekend but we ended up doing errands and going to cookouts and parties all weekend long.. I got home yesterday and just wanted to sit I was so tired! My dinner on friday night was only french fries and booze.. I figured they'd have some vegetarian options at a grad party but no such luck! French fries were my only option, boo! I haven't had too many chips, although I did eat some.. I need to get my head on straight! Hopefully I'll do better this week, I can tell my diet was bad because I'm so bloated right now, hopefully lots of water will help! Do you think adding in some extra planks and push ups will help at all or not really? Just trying to think of fast ideas I can do in between doing other things!
  • mamareese
    mamareese Posts: 1,573 Member
    The 'WEEK' was a pretty good turn out on the challenge for me. The weekend was horrendous. Ridiculously horrendous. So going to try to do damage control this week and get back on track. Between a bad rut with my own issues and a little one ending up in the ER with 2 staples to his poor little head, I let inhibition fly. Back at it today.
  • amysj303
    amysj303 Posts: 5,086 Member
    Week 1 wasn't so great for me :( I didn't end up doing any strength work outs! I was planning on doing them while I stayed at my boyfriend's house this weekend but we ended up doing errands and going to cookouts and parties all weekend long.. I got home yesterday and just wanted to sit I was so tired! My dinner on friday night was only french fries and booze.. I figured they'd have some vegetarian options at a grad party but no such luck! French fries were my only option, boo! I haven't had too many chips, although I did eat some.. I need to get my head on straight! Hopefully I'll do better this week, I can tell my diet was bad because I'm so bloated right now, hopefully lots of water will help! Do you think adding in some extra planks and push ups will help at all or not really? Just trying to think of fast ideas I can do in between doing other things!
    And planks and push ups are good strength stuff, maybe add the KISS cardio thing-30 secs of mountain climbers, 30 secs of jumping jacks, then rest for the 30 secs and repeat for as much time as you have. Gets the heart rate up!
    Oh, as far as my challenge went I don't think I got enough protein except maybe one day! I also drank a few beers but I am going to try again this week, same goals, with hopefully more sucess!
  • Stephinow
    Stephinow Posts: 273
    Monday check in :bigsmile:

    Alcohol: I have not had one single ounce of booze. I'm meeting friends at Camacho's, a Mexican restaurant/bar, for margaritas (and I'm sure those warm homemade tortilla chips) on Sunday, then going to BJ's, a bar and grill, after my son's graduation for a celebratory dinner on Monday. I think those social dates are what's keeping me from drinking. Whatever works, right?

    Sleeping 7-8 hours: I'm not doing bad here. I am typically getting 6.5-7 during the week, and this weekend I got my full 8 because I'm not staying up drinking. I was able to go to bed at a reasonable hour and wake up with no alarm clock.
  • chuisle
    chuisle Posts: 1,052 Member
    First part of week 1 was great...second part, not so much. Last weekend was particularly bad for me and reminded me that when I am off my regular routine I still need to make sure I don't go too far off! Especially a good reminder with two weddings coming up...I just need to listen to my body.

    So reminding myself of what didn't do the last few days...
    - 5 standard workouts + strength
    - staying under on carbs

    I have faith in my ability to keep it up until Saturday which is the end of my two weeks...but I won't quite be successful but I think I'll have learned some lessons!
  • amysj303
    amysj303 Posts: 5,086 Member
    ok, everyone, you can do it!
    I know I can do the strength training 3 days per week and the cardio bit once a week. Still working on protein (over 100 grams daily) and no beer. So far Sunday and Monday, no beer!
  • cutmd
    cutmd Posts: 1,168 Member
    Alright this week dairy is out! I'm doing ok on calories, protein, and sugar. I could use a little less fruit probably but I really think the water retention I have is dairy related, so it is out! :angry:
  • jenomaha
    jenomaha Posts: 631 Member
    I've been feeling a bit overwhelmed and unsure where to go at this point. I hit the bottom of my goal weight range and am not sure what to do about my calorie goal now. I had a really hungry day yesterday and I think it's because I lifted so heavy on Sunday. Gonna do some research on calories when muscle building/burning fat and see what I come up with. I am happy with how my body has been changing the last 2 weeks and hope to get some pics up later.

    We can do this together!!!! Have a great day!!!
  • chuisle
    chuisle Posts: 1,052 Member
    I've been feeling a bit overwhelmed and unsure where to go at this point. I hit the bottom of my goal weight range and am not sure what to do about my calorie goal now. I had a really hungry day yesterday and I think it's because I lifted so heavy on Sunday. Gonna do some research on calories when muscle building/burning fat and see what I come up with. I am happy with how my body has been changing the last 2 weeks and hope to get some pics up later.

    We can do this together!!!! Have a great day!!!

    I'd be interested to hear what you find!

    An additional goal for the wedding I'm attending on Sunday is to follow cutmd's advice on getting event ready. Until Saturday I am

    -Not eating bread or dairy products
    -Drinking 60 oz. a day of Jillian Michael's flush formula (not too terrible)
    -Doing a bit of extra sweating in my exercise
    -Drinking more tea to up my caffeine

    Already the dairy and bread was challenging when I went to eat dinner last night just because there were only so many options, but I figure I can do it for a few days :)
  • nab22
    nab22 Posts: 168
    Checking in ladies

    Alcohol: doing better, going canoeing tomorrow so that might involve drinking...

    Eating: awesome, still until like 8 pm. Oh well, if I am really that hungry that I stuff my face at night I must not be eating enough during the day, right?

    But... I've gained 4 pounds! That's basically everything I lost since joining MFP :(((((( Oh, and consistently gained, like two pounds last week, two this week. My measurements aren't moving down either. Everything fits great though, what is going on??

    Its very frustrating, since my 1st vacation is coming up on the 29th. I may need a new challenge, like no dairy or getting event ready or something.
  • amysj303
    amysj303 Posts: 5,086 Member
    If your clothes fit ok then you might be building muscle while losing fat. 2 lbs last week and two pounds this week probably isn't fat but you know better how you feel, if it is water retention.
    My scale isn't moving really, but I put on a bra that was too loose the other day and I most of my pants aren't too tight anymore.
  • shander7
    shander7 Posts: 613 Member
    I am very happy, I was able to have a SERVING SIZE of chips! I got to have what I was craving without binging. This is one of the first times I controlled my eating with my big binge food.. I would say that this is a success for this challenge! Next is to work on more strength.. if I can get my butt out of bed tomorrow morning I'll try to get some in :)
  • chuisle
    chuisle Posts: 1,052 Member
    Well done, shander!

    Nab22 - you didn't really gain 4 lbs (14,000 excess calories? I doubt it!). But it does suck to see the scale go up. It's probably water retention. I think that when I make dietary or exercise changed my body often reacts by holding water. Chin up! You're doing great!

    I did a 90 minute yoga class last night. Not strenuous but everytime I do it I am reminded that I need to continue to practice to help counteract some of the harmful effects of my effects of my other types of training, which can be hard on your body. My core is definitely stronger than last time I practiced though. When I got home we had nothing easy that wasn't dairy or bread and I was STARVING. I finally found a frozen meal that wasn't too terrible in the back, threw it in and after it was done and I was sitting down to eat it realized it had both pasta and cheese in it :(

    So I stopped, gave it to my sister, and ran to panera for a bowl of soup. Traumatic.
  • amysj303
    amysj303 Posts: 5,086 Member
    Well, I am on day 4 of no beer and I have my bag for the KISS workout tonight. Sumo deadlifts and crocs, that's all I can remember right now...
  • sunshine79
    sunshine79 Posts: 758 Member
    I've not posted for a few days as I've had to re-think my approach. Those of you on the NROLFW thread will know that I'm now eating at maintenance (eeeeek!!!) and creating my deficit through exercise as the severe calorie restriction was the thing that was causing me problems - I am fine with the workout part.

    That said I've been working really hard to get my protein intake up to at least 100g per day and today I finally did it. I had to put a lot of though and planning into it but I did it. Also have been doing excellent with the NROLFW strength training 3 x per week.

    So today = a successful day for me

    How are you all getting on?
  • Better_Balance_2011
    Better_Balance_2011 Posts: 3,711 Member
    I got some activitiy in yesterday - walked my dog with a little running so got about 45 minutes of cardio in. It was really nice in KY....not too hot and my doggie had been with sitters for 5 days so I needed some quality time. I have my gym bag packed for today's strength session at the gym, but I think I need to work a little late and my husband is at home with a sinus infection and bronchitis! Yuck. More than likely I'll skip the gym so I can be home with him and may try to get a couple mile run in. Or maybe I'll paint the basement. Ewww. Or maybe do some free weights. Or maybe I will decide to be a lazy couch potato......Hope you all are having a great day!
  • chuisle
    chuisle Posts: 1,052 Member
    I got some activitiy in yesterday - walked my dog with a little running so got about 45 minutes of cardio in. It was really nice in KY....not too hot and my doggie had been with sitters for 5 days so I needed some quality time. I have my gym bag packed for today's strength session at the gym, but I think I need to work a little late and my husband is at home with a sinus infection and bronchitis! Yuck. More than likely I'll skip the gym so I can be home with him and may try to get a couple mile run in. Or maybe I'll paint the basement. Ewww. Or maybe do some free weights. Or maybe I will decide to be a lazy couch potato......Hope you all are having a great day!

    Ha! This sounds like me somedays! Off to do KISS soon. Front squats today. Roughhhh. But I can do it!
  • amysj303
    amysj303 Posts: 5,086 Member
    I got some activitiy in yesterday - walked my dog with a little running so got about 45 minutes of cardio in. It was really nice in KY....not too hot and my doggie had been with sitters for 5 days so I needed some quality time. I have my gym bag packed for today's strength session at the gym, but I think I need to work a little late and my husband is at home with a sinus infection and bronchitis! Yuck. More than likely I'll skip the gym so I can be home with him and may try to get a couple mile run in. Or maybe I'll paint the basement. Ewww. Or maybe do some free weights. Or maybe I will decide to be a lazy couch potato......Hope you all are having a great day!

    Ha! This sounds like me somedays! Off to do KISS soon. Front squats today. Roughhhh. But I can do it!
    How heavy do you go on front squats? I did 45 last time but I could barely get it up to my chest, so I felt a little ridiculous.
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