Turn your knowledge into Power Challenge

Hi everyone,

Sorry I have been missing in action the last 3 days. We had the opportunity to spend the weekend with my father-in-law, whom I adore, at Flaming Gorge. It was a wonderful visit, we went boating, fishing, sight seeing, and animal watching.

My father-in-law is 72 years old and is amazing and in great health. He is active, and constantly busy with little projects. He takes the boat out several times a week, goes hiking, and 4 wheeling with his friends, and is forever working on home improvements. Ie, laying sod, setting paving stones, paint, stone work, and welding stuff. The man could easily out work me without even trying.

It made me realize the type of retirement that I long to have. I want to be the same way he is. The grand-kids and kids love to go visit. They beg to spend the summers with him, and he even tires them out! He lives his life, and has a wonderful time doing it. He only has to take a daily vitamin, and an iron supplement. He sleeps well, and wakes up refreshed. This is why I need to get healthy!

Veronica,

Your weekend sounds wonderful. Lots of quality time with the hubby and the opportunity to sleep in. The nachos sound so yummy. I love guacamole. I went over on my calories every day this weekend, but the upside is that I logged each and every one of them. Small steps I suppose!

Heather,

Your weekend sounds like fun! I love that you were so active, and doing things that you enjoy. It's important to remember those days, and I was happy to hear what your new healthy lifestyle contributed to it!

Way to go!

For portions, I measure everything. Measuring spoons and measuring cups are always in use. I'm getting pretty good at eyeballing some stuff, but I do a check every once in a while just to be sure. I like the rule about filling your plate 1/2 with veggies, 1/4 with protein, 1/4 with carb. When I first started it I always snuck some extra carb cause it just didn't look like enough, but I'm now able to stick to just a 1/2 c. of rice or pasta or potato. I've made my veggies so much more tastier, I don't even want the extra carb anymore. On rare occasions I'm even able to skip it altogether at dinner if I feel like I overdid it at lunch or breakfast.

Hey girls! As for portion control, I think I do pretty good. I have a digital scale that lets me put my plate on, zero it out and add on food, I use it a LOT. I also use my measuring spoons/cups for things like cereal/rice/pasta/grains. Hubby and I also usually share entrees when we go out to dinner, so even if we get a treat, we don't go overboard. I also pre-portion out things like nuts so we don't go over. I can keep a bag of nuts in my pocket through out the day and nibble on them as I need to without worrying about overdoing it.

Progress this week:

Friday: 2 mile jog (23 min.) Upper body weights workout, 25 pushups, 100 jumping jacks
Sat:-
Sun:-
Mon: Upper body weight workout (25 min), 25 pushups, 100 jumping jacks, pilates (15 min.) (no jog because my stomach was feeling icky, will do one on wed.)

~~Veronica

Just checking in to see how everyone is doing! I am doing much better this week, and I have managed to track the entire week so far. (fingers crossed)

I am logging my food, and while I was over calories every day for Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, I logged them anyway. I have been under on Monday and Tuesday. We are going camping this weekend, so I am not sure how the meals will go, but I do plan on logging them even if they are over. Hopefully I can get a hike in each day to help.

Summers are so much more difficult for me than winters. I hate to be hot, it makes me not want to do anything...especially exercise. I also have so many activities going on during the summer, and so many social things that we eat at others homes a lot, go camping, travel and eat out, way more than we do in the winter. I do so much better with a routine that I can stick to.
I am definitely looking forward to the upcoming seasons. Fall is my favorite!

Hope you are all doing well.

Week 4 Results: Early do to camping trip with limited cell phone service!

Weight: 262.4 (-.5)

Workouts

Friday: -
Saturday: -
Sunday: -
Monday: Current Walking-40 min., Water aerobics- 60 min.
Tuesday: Tank Top Arms (strength)- 27 min, Water aerobics-60 min.
Wednesday: Current walking-75 min.
Thursday: Current walking- 75 min, Boot Camp Hips and Thighs 27 min.

Total: Aerobic -5 hours 10 minutes. Strength training- 54 minutes.


NSV: I did my very first strength training activity this week. It was Tank Top Arms. I had difficulty with it and had to modify and not use weights, kettlebells, or resistance bands because the weight of my arm alone was more than enough, but it was a start! I am also doing Boot Camp Hips and Thighs today.

I did manage to log everyday this week, and I did it even with being over on calories for 4 of the 7 days. Still struggle with water intake, but I will continue to work on that one. I think it will come with time. I met my goal in time for activity, but it was not as spread out as I would like. I need to work on not going for 3 days with no activity.

Here's to a successful week, and the start of the next success!

Dorothy,

I was really excited I was able to do that too! It's amazing how much our bodies are capable of, if we just try! And, as for body weight, those extra pounds definitely count! I picked up 65 pounds (equal to what I've lost so far) last night and I could hardly lift it! It's amazing to me that I was carting that around all day everyday! I started doing strength training with just body weight as well (pushups, squats, lunges), so overtime, you'll get there, just keep at it.

I'm doing well so far this week! Looking forward to a (little) splurge this afternoon- going downtown to have lunch with hubby. I love having dates in the middle of the day! Then, Saturday it's FAIR TIME, so I'll go off plan a little for that too (don't tell the diet police, but I might even share a funnel cake with someone!) but it should be a fun family time!

REALLY sore this a.m., so looking forward to a couple day's rest this weekend. The new push up in weight is definitely adding to muscle soreness, by next week it should be better. Last night's run was bad, just had no energy. It was really humid, even though it wasn't super hot, it just sucked the life right out of me!

Friday: 2 mile jog (23 min.) Upper body weights workout, 25 pushups, 100 jumping jacks
Sat:-
Sun:-
Mon: Upper body weight workout (25 min), 25 pushups, 100 jumping jacks, pilates (15 min.) (no jog because my stomach was feeling icky, will do one on wed.)
Tues: 25 pushups, 100 jumping jacks, pilates (15 min), Lower body/abs weight workout (30 min.)
Wed: 30 pushups, 100 jumping jacks, 2.1 mile jog (22 min.)
Thurs: 30 pushups, 100 jumping jacks, Tonight full body weight workout (45-50 min.)

Didn't hit the goal of 2 hours of cardio, but over-all I feel satisfied with my exercise for the week.

Tami, LauraLee- hope you are both doing ok, missing your updates and thinking of you both!

~~Veronica

Good morning, folks!
I did pretty well this week and am SO excited to have lost another pound. This range is new to me - it's been YEARS since I have seen these numbers on the scale. I can't wait to see a "4" in the middle of the digital screen one of these days . . soon. Yippee!

CW = 154
GW = 130
B = 39
W = 37
H = 40.5

This week I added more resistance to the Elipital trainer that I use. Ramped it up by 3 points; and burned more calories. I also have included weights every other workout - circuit training.
Watching calories like a hawk. Need to keep all of these things going. Short term goal is to lose another pound by next Friday so that I can reward myself with a 1-hour massage!
Good luck to everyone!

Great job Laura!

My weigh in this week was 151.2, that's a loss of .8 pounds, and leaves me a little ahead of schedule in my overall goal to see 14_._ during this challenge. I'm a daily weigher and I actually did see that magical 4 in the middle on Wed. this week, but it didn't stick around, maybe next week. I'm super excited to be this low. My driver's license has 150 listed as my weight and I'm almost there! What makes this more amazing is that I haven't changed my weight on my license since I first got it when I was 18 years old!!

My Knowledge Challenge recipe:

Jambalaya

1 pound chicken breast, chopped into 1 inch pieces
2 links chicken sausage
1/2 pound raw shrimp (peeled, deveined and tails removed)
1 red sweet bell pepper(chopped)
1 med. onion(chopped)
3 cloves garlic (chopped)
1 c. long grain brown rice
2 c. low sodium chicken broth
1 can rotel (or other brand of diced tomatoes with green chili)
1 T. olive oil
Cayenne pepper and cajun/creole seasoning (to taste, we like it hot and I use almost a T. of both!)

Saute the bell pepper, onion in the olive oil for about 3-5 minutes, add the garlic and cook for another minute or two, add chicken and saute just until it gets a little browned. Add sausage, rice, broth and tomatoes. Stir in seasoning. Bring to boil, turn down and simmer well covered for about an hour, stirring occasionally. If the liquid runs a little low, you add a little water or more broth if you need to. Toss in the shrimp and cook just until they curl up and turn opaque. Makes 8 servings (about 1 1/2 cups)

Calories: 271 Carbs:23 Fat:6 Protein:25 Sodium (figured without the seasoning):482

~~Veronica

I love snacks and one of my favorites is hershey kisses or m&m's in popcorn. I wanted to come up with a similar tasting snack, but with less calories and fat. So here it is:

Tami's Low Cal Chocolate Popcorn Treat

3 cups air popped popcorn (plain)
1 tsp rainbow or chocolate sprinkles (cake topping)

Let popcorn cool slightly before sprinkling with rainbow sprinkles. Candies will melt, making a great salty/sweet low calorie treat.

Calories: 113
Fat: <1
Cholesterol: 0
Sodium: 0
Potassium: 72
Carbs: 21
Fiber: 1
Protein: 1
Sugars: 3
Iron: 1%

Hey, sorry I'm a bit behind. I found the article on measuring my fitness level interesting - but required too much time this week for me to acutally do. As far as portions I am blessed with a very good eye for estimating volumes. I do use a kitchen scale a fair bit for weights and for meat. But what I'm always surprized by is how little a portion is for most starchy foods. Spaghetti, rice, potatoes, bread...they are always more calorie dense than I think. I struggle so much with limiting sweets to a single portion - I feel deprived and sets up such a craving cycle. What I love about paying attention to portions is the comparitively massive volume of food I can enjoy when I include lots of vegetables and fruits in my day. There are several food diaries that I wonder how the person is not totally starving with the minisule amount of processed and calorie dense foods the person is eating. And others records where I always have to scrolling down through their meals because there is so much healthy yummy things that they filled themselves well. I aspire to that scroll-down-the-healthy-foods - type food record!

Friday I weighed in at 229.6, gain of .4. I guess my previous weeks of not so great food choices has caught up with me! This past week though I was on track with my calories all but one day, so that was an improvement!

To report on the physical challenge.
Friday 30 min (walk)
Sat 0
Sun 0
Mon 105 min (walk/run +Bike ride + pushups, squats, curls)
Tues 65 min (brisk walk)
Wed 75 min (long bike ride)
Thur 0

So that makes approx 4.5 hours cardio this week, and 45 minutes strength training. I need to get more consistent with strength training if I really want to get stronger. But I am quite sore, especially the day after and sometimes I can't get motivated to create that same discomfort again. I know the muscles get stronger as they are pushed harder and that the soreness is actually a sign that I am challenging them to grow stronger...but dispite my knowing that, I have a hard time getting back to it more than once a week. So my goal this coming week is to do strength training 3 times!

My NSV this week would definitely be riding my bike (which I have not done for at least 2 years) and the self talk that freed me to try! Last week, I made a comment to a MFP friend that I would really like to be able to ride bikes with my kids. Almost immediately I thought, "Wishes rarely come true, goals written down and worked at generally do." I realized I could keep complaining about my lack of adequate strength to do the hills in our neighbourhood - where my kids generally ride. I could keep telling myself I was too big, that I wouldn't be able to even handle sitting on the bike. Or I could start by trying and working towards that objective of riding with my kids. I told myself, "You have been working out for 4 months now - cardiovasularily you can surely handle a bike ride and you are 19 pounds lighter." So I started with a plan that wouldn't require a long distance and is totally FLAT, to see how it went. It went GREAT! My little toddler loved being in the carrier behind me, and my 3 year old behind her Daddy on a tandum bike had a blast! It went so well, in fact that two days later we went biking again and went really quite fast and far. My legs were jello by the end - but it was good. We have now been 3 times and I know as I become lighter it will be even more enjoyable...(especially for my behind :blushing: ).

Laura - have fun camping, it sounds like you've given thought to your meals so you can make some positive progress, that's great!
Heather - I can relate to being drawn to the computer. I'm glad you are part of this challenge and I suspect others feel that way in your other challenge. Doing better than you would have on your own, is one of the real benefits to belonging to this MFP community.
Tami - I'm glad you are still here! You popcorn snack sounds yummy. I've found a similar solution for my cheese love. Grating it with a fine zester and using really strong cheese on the top of various foods, like eggs, casserole etc. seems to give me satisfaction without all the fat!
Veronica - thanks for sharing your recipe, it sound yummy! Hope you see a few more 4's this week!
Everyone who I've missed, hope you have a great weekend and like Heather, make this week even better than last week!