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

theperfectratio - Our weight fluctuates quite a bit naturally, and if you've "upped" your weight training, it's very likely that you are retaining water in your muscles. Try to weigh-in the morning after your rest day to give your body time to mellow out a bit. It's a bit like playing mind games with yourself, but over time you will definitely see a steady decline in your weight. When I started MFP i weighed a146lbs and over the course of those 23lbs lost I've gained weight about 25% of the weeks I've been on here. It's just life! It can certainly be demoralizing, but at least you know you're doing things right!

Updating the list to add Kntu...

mkingraham (Megan)- Keep up the 15k training plan, complete my 10k on 9/24, make my workouts a priority even when I'm on the cruise, get into ONEderland
meagalayne- Ice and stretch as needed and try to incorporate core and upper body work into your weekly routine; drink more H20 than you did in August; run on Sept 18th ONLY if your foot is healing/healed and if you are capable of doing so without risking further injury; continue not logging food and be good to yourself
elksy- Run 5k three times a week, start logging faithfully, develop healthy attitudes towards food.
abby459- lose 5lbs in September; run my first 5K, keep working out at least 5 days/week.
jillybeanruns - Continue training for my marathon and train smart; keep up with PT exercises, stretch/do yoga, and ice; strength train a minimum of 2x a week; 96 oz of water minimum a day; work harder to get my net cals up on long run/high burn days;
greenb trying to get back to 150 lbs. I'm currently 209; I've already lost 6.8 lbs. I also want to run a 5k and work out atleast 4x a week.
GreenHumanClay continue Jogging 3xs/week, Drinking plenty of h20 64. oz. minimum, Continue practicing Bikram Yoga 3xs/week, more rest 7-8 hrs, not obsess over the scale, hiking or mt. biking 2-4 times per month and be nicer and loving to my self.
cmg2008: continue to run at least 3 days a week, get into the low 130s, and try not to get stressed out over grad school =D
imarunner8908-track at least 5 days a week, lose 10lbs (5 that I gained last month and 5 more)
KanCrav~Loose my last pound.. stick with my strength training.. get back in the habit of working out at least 4times a week.
lalonmeg000-drink 2 full nalgene bottles of water everyday! which means it has to come with me to class , only 2 meals out to eat a week, eat something for breakfast everyday
GuamGrly~ (Bethany) - start and continue C25K training, 8 oz. of water per day, 60-90 minutes per week of additional exercise, eat out no more than 2 days per week, and lose 5 pounds this month. Going big or going home this month!!
emmarie- exercise!!, get back to bootcamp, solid dinners, get the hang of my schedule, don't stress!
lexgem - keep up with ripped in 30 and be able to do level 3 by the end of the month, lose 2 pounds, join a capoeira class
lostalykat- Lose 5 pounds, strength train 2 times a week, start half-marathon training for fun and just focus on eating healthy tasty food.
theperfectratio-get to 160, complete 30DS, work my way up to running 3 miles every few days on the treadmill (not necessarily on C25K though)
Kntu- get to 140lbs, aqua jog 2x week and swim 1x week, and feel more confident/comfortable in high waisted jeans

AFM - Today at work was actually decent. Not too stressful and miserable. I was easy getting up, and slow to get ready, and then my day went by pretty well. Hit the grocery store after work and picked up some spinach, strawberries and beets (which I am very interested to experiment with!) and a few choc covered pretzels because I was CRAVING a treat and I'd been super good all day/week. Then I hit spin class, despite my better judgement. Did cyclefit for 25 mins before calling it quits - my hip was just wayyyy too sore for it. Sunday's race should be interesting :huh:

Two more days, ladies. Two days until I finally finish what I started ! It won't be pretty but it's getting done!

Good morning beauties! :bigsmile:

So sorry for being MIA lately but i have been absolutely run off my feet with life since the weekend. Trying to catch up, desperately, and get everything done but it seems like chores and responsibilities just keep piling up. I wish I could get a handle on it but I am definitely feeling overwhelmed. And lately it seems to be a matter of either working out or getting in quality MFP time, so you guys are falling to the wayside... :ohwell: Don't take it personally! But yea, the gym is wayyy cooler :glasses: haha JUST KIDDING! The reality is that once I get home and finally have a chance to get online I am just way too exhausted and cranky to be typing out a long response on here. It's easier for me in the morning when my mind is refreshed but these days my mornings have been very hectic as well.

Enough excuses! Onto the updates.

The 1/2 Marathon was splendid! I finished in 2:08:48, which given my injuries and my hiatus from training the past few weeks is pretty stellar. My goal was to be under 2:15:00, so I definitely kicked some *kitten* on that ! It actually felt really good to run and in the end I didn't feel overly exhausted. My body, on the other hand, felt like it had been beating with a sack of hammers from the hips down. My left foot and both hips were absolutely screaming, but I managed it and toughed out the last 7km like a champ despite my nagging joints. I am pretty proud of myself for finishing... :bigsmile: And considering a second go at it Oct 16th, but we will see!

Been eating out a LOT lately - almost every day, actually. But I always try to make the best choices available and I am back to logging now, so I am counting when I can. It's not ideal but at the moment it's the only way I can make like "work". I am not overly concerned about my weight. In fact, I'm not concerned at all. But I do want to be eating healthy, fresh food and to be hitting my macros everyday. Race day totally doesn't count Just keepin' at it - one day at a time!

Greenhumanclay - Good choice on skipping the run. 10pm runs are dicey in the best of neighbourhoods, even with a headlamp. Safety is a first priority - both in terms of your physical safety and safety whilst running. You really do need to be able to clearly see where you are going to avoid injury. One misstep and you can really do some serious damage. Running in the dark is really not recommended without the proper gear. As for gym running at night, you can do it but cardio that late could interrupt your sleep patterns. I know i couldn't run that late at night and then get to bed before 12 o'clock, but it depends on you. Fit it in when you can, but make sure it's not to the detriment of what's important in life :happy:

Shorty - Very true about insulin spikes after eating carbs - your body is able to suck up protein and recovery a lot faster after a big workout if you consume carbs within 30-60 minutes or so. As for pairing foods, I think for general weight loss and healthy living, it's not overly crucial. What's important is hitting your targets, getting your macro nutrients in line, and really just fueling your body adequately to lose the weight and stay fit and healthy. If you are body building or really focused on your body composition and toning/bulking, then food pairing is something that can be adhered to a little more seriously. Otherwise i think you should just eat what you like within your goals and do the best you can to make choices that make you happy.

Megan - welcome back!!:drinker: We've missed you as well! Happy to hear you had a fabulous and very healthy trip - it sounds like you did everything right! Only eating fabulous food? CHECK! So worth it and you only live once, right? Very proud of your 5 mile run lady - that's a damnnn long way to go without resting so I am chuffed for ya! I love how "in the game" you are and already back on track - didn't miss a step. What a fabulous example you are setting for everyone. Love love love it! :happy:

petiteerrant - Good luck with BodyPump, whatever it is! Let us know how it goes and post those before/after pics! Come on!

Kntu - We all go through ups and downs with our weight - It can fluctuate quite a bit! Don't get discouraged. Just keep putting in the effort and the weight will come off over time. Great job on the loss - Just enjoy it instead of dreading the potential gain this week! Hard work pays off!

Have a great HUMP day everyone - Much love!