***ALL TEAMS WEEK 1 CHALLENGE****

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michaelvhawk
michaelvhawk Posts: 100 Member
All right everyone it is time to get back into the swing of things, and I can’t think of a better way to start things off then with a challenge! This will be a quick and easy challenge that we can all do without a great deal of effort, but I believe it will help us throughout the next 12 weeks tremendously. Each of us have different strengths and weaknesses when it comes to weight loss and one of the great things about losing weight as a group is that we should be able to utilize each others strengths and help each other overcome weaknesses.

So that we can get to know each other a little better this week everyone take the time to list the one thing that you are consistently good at with regards to weight loss and list the one area you struggle with more than any other with regards to weight loss. Also because I truly believe that if we fail to plan and compensate for our weaknesses they will get the best of us please list what your plan is to overcome that weakness over the next 12 weeks so that it does not prevent you from losing weight. The goal of this is to give everyone someone to talk to for support when they are struggling in a certain area of weight loss throughout the next 12 weeks and beyond. Since this is such a short week please be sure to get your responses in quickly so you can get ready to participate in next weeks challenge, which will start on Friday! Let’s get everyone participating so that we can all support each other and celebrate success together!
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  • michaelvhawk
    michaelvhawk Posts: 100 Member
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    I will go first on this challenge so that I can demonstrate what we are looking for.

    As far as strengths go I am very diligent about working out. I make sure to get a good workout in at least 5 times a week no matter what! I just don’t feel like I have accomplished anything unless I have my workout in for the day.

    As for weaknesses, this is easy for me. I have a huge sweet tooth. I have always loved sweet treats and find it very difficult to go long without them. The trouble with is they are usually loaded with sugar and fat and calories of course.

    My plan to overcome my sweet tooth over the next 12 weeks is to find a low calorie very small alternative so that I can satisfy this craving without sacrificing all of my hard work the rest of the day. Any suggestions for what this may be are very welcome!
  • jomom2
    jomom2 Posts: 429 Member
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    Ok my strengths in my diet, is that I always eat a healthy breakfast and never go overboard.

    My weekness is my dinners. I tend to overeat at dinner time. It really frustrates me , because I do so good all day with eating healthy, but then by the time dinner comes I over do it.
  • LeighAnnaMS
    LeighAnnaMS Posts: 282
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    My strength is my work-week diet, I always have my shake for breakfast, lunch and dinners are typically really good. Weekends are my weakness, I go out to night clubs with my friends and drinking, I do drink vodka with water and lime slices which I'm pretty sure is the healthiest (if I can even say that) alcoholic drink out there....My 12 week goal is to go out and not drink alcoholic drinks and stick to water and tons of dancing... my other weakness is working out. My goal is to do 20 minutes of walking on my new treadmill :happy: a day, minimum!

    Michael, I have a suggestion for your sweet tooth as I have one as well. I use a product called Isagenix and they have these 50 cal chocolates called Isadelights <http://www.isagenix.com/ca/en/isadelightplus.dhtml&gt; in milk chocolate and dark chocolate, I have 1-2 a day in the afternoon when I feel like I need something sweet. They have great nutritional benefits too!
  • michaelvhawk
    michaelvhawk Posts: 100 Member
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    Michael, I have a suggestion for your sweet tooth as I have one as well. I use a product called Isagenix and they have these 50 cal chocolates called Isadelights <http://www.isagenix.com/ca/en/isadelightplus.dhtml&gt; in milk chocolate and dark chocolate, I have 1-2 a day in the afternoon when I feel like I need something sweet. They have great nutritional benefits too!

    I like what I hear so far, I will definitely check this out, thanks for the help!
  • WendyCollinson2004
    WendyCollinson2004 Posts: 146 Member
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    My strength would be working out. I have recently started running and think of running a 7 mile race in July. I ran 2.5 miles today and hope to work my way up. I exercise twice a day 3 to 4 days out of the week and at least once on one other day of the week.

    My weakness right now is chocloate. I had overcome it but since Easter just got over with, I still have lots of candy in the apartment. I only allow myself 1 to satisfy my craving, but I still want to kick it.

    How I plan on doing that is using the phrase "out of sight, out of mind". I also like to eat Fiber One and Special K snacks that are less then 100 calories.
  • psychomomxs4
    psychomomxs4 Posts: 400 Member
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    My strength is my ability to focus and be very diligent about working out. I’m a work horse, I workout at least 5 times a week. I feel like I have really accomplished something for ME when I get done with my workout.

    My weaknesses, is letting my special family over take me. Being the mother of 4 special needs children is all consuming most of the time. My oldest that is 27, has Autism, CP and is developmental disabled. It is a constant fight with the state to keep him living on his own. My oldest daughter is 22 she too is developmental disabled. She lives at home because of safety issues. My TEENAGER! Son is 16 he has attitude, and Asperger Syndrome. My youngest daughter who is 13 is a quadriplegic. She requires full time care around the clock. Sometimes my days run on for days. My life is engulfed with drama, Drama and DRAMA.

    My 12 week goal for this issue is to GO TO THE GYM AND PUT THE MUSIC UP LOUD! Leave my cell phone in the car while working out. Claiming personal time and space once a week at home for me. But most of all to remind myself daily in order to care for all of them, I need to take care of me.

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  • tenshiblue
    tenshiblue Posts: 150 Member
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    Strength: I'm super diligent about logging every calorie that touches my mouth. I've never missed a day since I joined MFP. I think this helps me stay focused. When I have a really bad food day, I don't gloss it over by not logging the bad food. I think seeing the over abundance of calorie intake helps me tremendously to stay on track.

    Weakness: Like many others, I definitely have a horrible sweet tooth. The other day at work, there were three different kind of cakes that people brought in. Yup I've had a small piece of all of them :( Today I had a really bad ice cream craving so we drove to Dairy Queen to get some soft serve ice cream. I'm horrible about sweets, and it doesn't help that my hubby enables my sweets habit especially when I give him the puppy dog sad eyes :embarassed: I'm a lot better now than I was before I started MFP, but I've still got a long way to go to conquer this horrible unhealthy urge!
  • fitmom_pam1976
    fitmom_pam1976 Posts: 1,192 Member
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    My strength is definately my workouts! I love burning those calories and am NOT afraid to break a sweat and try new things! I actually encountered a tremendous change this morning at the gym. My trainer has changed my workout, and boy is it DIFFERENT!!! I now have to use machines that I have NEVER used before and it was SCARY!!! BUT I tried my best today...and I will try even harder tomorrow!

    My weakness......where do I start!!! Food!!! I enjoy cooking and baking...... and eating!!!! I have to say that during the week, I am able to control myself better...BUT once the weekend hits, I am out of control!!! I am hoping to overcome these bad habits by REALLY trying to plan my meals ahead of time and LOGGING my food in MFP!!!! I think this will help me to be more accountable!
  • 6mimi
    6mimi Posts: 1,439 Member
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    My biggest strength is eating clean healthy foods. I am very interested in what I put in my body and my famiies bodies. There are so many interesting healthy recipies out there that are fun to try. I found that once you get used to eating healthy foods, processed foods just look gross to you. My husband teased me the other day about being scared to try a brownie I made because of a secret ingredient (I made black bean brownies.. yum) and I reminded him that he eats things every day made of awful secret ingredients. I mean.. does he really understand what all of the ingredients are that made up his bag of chips or the pink slime in some meats? I proved my point! :wink:

    I would say my biggest weakness is portion control. I admit it... I love food. To help with this weakness I am going to make sure to log everything I eat and actually use the food scale I have in the kitchen. I am also going to focus on why I am really eating. I know sometimes I eat too much just because I am tired, bored or stressed.
  • StrongGwen
    StrongGwen Posts: 378 Member
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    This week it's much easier to name weaknesses than strenghts! Strengths: I always eat a good healthy breakfast, every day. When I do workout, I really enjoy doing it. Like so many, I have a huge sweet tooth too, but as a strength, I was able to go cold turkey for 10 weeks with no sugar at all. And I have no trouble drinking all the water I need each day.

    Weaknesses: ahh, where to begin? If I'm eating a bunch of junk I find that I don't log it in MFP (if I don't write it down, did it REALLY happen?) I sometimes allow stress to convince me it's ok to eat something like a bag of M&M's, then I have trouble stopping once I've released my Sugar Monster. I have become lax about working out and planning my meals, so when I come home and I'm so tired I'll just eat whatever is there, usually carbs out of a box.

    Plan: I will log everything I eat, like I did before, because it works. Even if it's embarrasing and I have no idea how many calories I'll just take my best guess. (You can blame me if MFP blows up or something due to logging an incredible amount of junk!) I will also plan my workouts better and lay out my things for the next morning before I go to bed.
  • chicagoposh
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    I love working out. I’ve been diligently doing so for about nine months and have gotten so much stronger thanks to my personal trainer, who also happens to be my neighbor. Several months ago I started running, again. With all the cardio and strength training I have been doing I’m actually surprised at how much I can actually run. To keep myself motivated with running, I joined a running club and meet once a week. In June I will be running my second 5K. Starting next weekend my personal trainer workouts will be kicked up a notch…SUMMER BOOT CAMP. Those are fantastic calorie blasting workouts.

    Food is my weakness. I love all foods and, at times, in all quantities. For the last year I have tried to focus on eating cleaner and being careful with portion control. Many times I have failed but I don’t allow myself to get discouraged. Being a wife, a mom of three, and working outside the home, I have no choice but to set routines and make plans. Even on those days that I’m feeling exhausted and with no desire to do anything I try and stick to the plan.

    My focus for the next 12 weeks:

    -Run more
    -Incorporate more healthy, fast recipes for the whole family
    -Keep focused on the weekends

    I wish you all reach your goals during these 12 weeks.

    GOOD LUCK
  • momreloading
    momreloading Posts: 64 Member
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    Well here I am.
    Weakness: emotional eater, sweet tooth, like junk food:huh:
    Strengths: workout regularly (4 to 5 days a week), encouraged to run the next Nike race in May, and Disney Family Fun Run next January, so I have plans short and long term based on healthy habits and getting better day after day.:bigsmile:
    I log in MFP every day, and I’ve lost 31 pound since I started in December 2011, I was size 14 and now I’m using size 10 and counting :glasses:
    My slogan: “Discipline is the key of success”
    Thanks to all my MFP specially in this group you all are very supportive and I really appreciate all this that helps me a lot.



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  • Learning2LuvLindsay
    Learning2LuvLindsay Posts: 1,142 Member
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    Strength- Working out. I've been diligent about getting my weekly workouts in. I have a routine that I follow and try to stick to it as much as possible. I hope to add running into my exercise schedule soon since I've signed up for my first 5k this summer.

    Weakness- Weekend logging. I never log my foods on the weekend. I don’t think my eating is out of control but I could probably lose weight faster if I would start logging all the calories I consume on the weekends, including alcohol.
  • Alsison
    Alsison Posts: 626 Member
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    Strength = Weekdays

    During the week while I am working, I have great habits. I wake up early to fit in a workout, eat three small meals during the day, and then come home and make a healthy dinner. I rarely go over my calories and always hit my water intake goal for the day...:smile:

    Weekness = Weekends

    It usually starts with a cold beer after work on Friday and the next thing I know I have spent the entire weekend overindulging.:blushing:

    Plan of Action

    I am going to commit to myself to keep the indulging down to one day per week opposed to the entire weekend. I was able to succeed in losing the first 50 lbs while incorporating a "free day" on Sundays. I need to remember what has worked for me in the past and not try to reinvent the wheel.

    Thanks for listening!

    Cheers:flowerforyou:
    Alison
  • johnsoh85
    johnsoh85 Posts: 26
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    I like this challenge its nice to read im not the only one with these weaknesses

    Strength - During the week i do really good on my eating i usually stay within my calories and do my exercise everyday.

    Weakness- WEEKENDS when the weekend comes i just eat whatever I want its like i spend all week working my butt off to lose 2 or 3 pounds just to gain it all back on the weekend so i never get anywhere.

    Plan - so my plan is to stay on track on the weekends uuuuggggg its soooo hard

    I keep telling my self nothing tastes as good as being skinny is going to feel but man it tastes soooooo good!!!!!!!
    Good Luck Everyone!!!!
  • Raspberrydelight
    Raspberrydelight Posts: 29 Member
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    LOVE this challenge!!! And reading everyone's ideas on how to overcome their weaknesses!!

    My strength is eating a very healthy breakfast and fitting in my workouts. Nap time is MY time...although this week I am trying to fit in 3 LONG walks with my son in the stroller now that its finally getting nicer outside :)

    Weaknesses....like so many of us...I have SO many to chose from....I think my biggest one that is slowing down my weight loss is not logging in my entire day...i usually get SO hungry by around 3 that I am eating mindlessly and not giving myself enough time inbetween foods to feel satisfied (ie: eat an apple...then eat a handful of nuts...then some cheese....ect). So I am going to try and eat a bit more in the am and for lunch and if I do snack in the afternoon have one thing and then find some activity to keep me busy for 30 mins BEFORE I decide I am still hungry and need more!!! Plus log in ALL my food ALL day long!!!!
  • sheBB
    sheBB Posts: 573 Member
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    My strengths: workouts, I have no problem working out as long as my achilles tendon doesn't act up.

    Weakness is food, mainly sweets. If I'm eating healthy & a holiday comes around I'm eating. Problem is I have a difficult time getting back to eating healty & leaving the food or sweets alone.
    My remedy: Don't buy them-easy to say,but if there is sugar around I can usually do something with it ie. fudge. So, I am going to have to find something that will satisfy my sugar craving.

    12 week goal: Get back on track. Quit the sugar. Do my main workout in the morning so I hopefully won't want to eat sweets (because I'm undoing what I've done).
  • lelasutt
    lelasutt Posts: 165 Member
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    My strength is working out 5 days a week, and my diet is usually good durning the work week. My weakness is the weekends, my boyfriend and i only get to see each other on the weekend, so we usually eat out alot, and i have a hard time making good choices out at restaurants.
  • gbloom182
    gbloom182 Posts: 75 Member
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    My strength is calorie tracking (except today since its my birthday!)... My weekness is finding the time to squeeze in workouts.
  • ABloom531
    ABloom531 Posts: 20 Member
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    My strength is probably knowledge. I've worked with health and nutrition for years and have learned the healthy ways to approach weight loss. They've worked for me, too, but my weakness is that I usually get a certain point after much success when I lose control and take steps back. To beat this weakness, I will try to keep things fresh and switch up exercise, etc often to keep things moving. This challenge helps!