Anyone up for a new challenge?

Now that spring break is finally over, I can get around to sticking to my plan, and hopefully getting to my initial goal weight of 150 pounds by summer! (I'm at about 162 right now....)

Does anyone want to do some sort of challenge, or just be a food-buddy with me? I'd appreciate some company in my weight-loss plan please.

Challenge:

Ultimately, set a goal amount of weight to lose by... May 15th (we can extend this if anyone wants to, as the date approaches).  Depending on how needy/active you want to be, decide how often you want to check in (once a week, once a day, etc. I'll probably check in more closely to once a day).  We will reach this weight goal by May 15th by setting smaller, non-weight related (but certainly health related) goals as often as we check in. Weigh in no more than once a week.

Adamanda, Go for the rewards! I got myself a manicure and pedicure (French, oo la la) for first 10 pounds (and that was right before a weekend destination wedding - I ate what I wanted and it ended up being mostly sensible). This is my second time with a major diet and I think RELAXING is the key. After all, we want new food habits, yes? Example: although I'm neurotic enough to need to weigh daily,I only let weekly averages count.  And tomorrow is Challenge weigh-in day for me!  180 by 5/15!!!

Sunday Weigh In !

> 5/15 Goal = 180. Progress: Lost 1.2 lbs from 185.5 to 184.3

> Weekly goal = carb binge recovery. Progress: No binges; allowed myself a brownie at bookstore and only ate half! (OK, SO took other half! But I shared!)

> This week's goal = another week with no carb binges.

I went to this Chemical Engineering Conference over the weekend.... basically, eating food other people prepared for me for all my meals and lots of partying at night.... *sigh* However, I don't think did too bad.  I guess we'll see tomorrow, right? But honestly, I weighed myself when I got home and I was 164 midday, which is pretty good for me still, since it can go down even 2 pounds over night (mostly that early morning pee.... lol)

I like the rewards/goal thing.  My friend is doing some photographs for a class, and basically decided to do naked photographs. I had volunteered, and since I'm comfortable with it, I figure I'll keep my availability open, since she probably will have people back out since now its naked.... (don't get me wrong, lol! Nothing will be showing....) Anyway, I'm thinking of that being a "reward" or at least a goal? I don't know....

This week: No binges (I stopped myself once last week, but didn't succeed the other time) and keep everything in moderation. Go to gym the two times I will miss swim practice.  Weekend: don't eat too much easter candy, and don't over do it on friday night (bar crawl + birthday party = way too many calories....)

A great little thing I found out though is that one of my pairs of jeans I forgot about fit better than they used to. yay!

beaglated- congrats on a successful week! Just keep it up. Even though you had half a brownie, you can certainly do things like that in moderation.  I consider that a great step. Good job!

sweatpantsundays- I agree with the eating vs. socializing. I find I do the same thing. What kind of engineer are you and what classes are you taking?

adamanda- I've had my all or nothing issues as well.  Just keep working on telling yourself that just because you messed up a little bit doesn't mean that you have to continue to mess up.  Every moment is connected to the next one, and you can keep striving. I have been guilty of that mindset as well.  Congrats on the weight loss and keep it up!

i would love to join you ladies

I want to work out atleast 3 times a week...i weigh 140 want to get down to 120 something

Hello ladies.

It looks like everyone had a good week. Mine was okay. I am a self-sabotageur. It usually goes something like this. I have a good week (eating well and working out) and on the Thursday or Friday I decide to reward myself WITH FOOD and that turns into an uncontrollable eat-fest which then leads to my feel ashamed and guilty and a failure which leads to more overeating which leads to not exercising...you get the gist.

So this week, in addition to sticking to eating cutoff time (which I did not follow over the weekend) my goal is to try to treat healthy eat not necessarily as an end in itself (and thus that deserves reward) but just look at it as the new way of being. And to reward myself with other non-food things. But food is so convenient (and usually cheaper than clothes or other stuff)..

some other suggestions for a reward: home pedicure or manicure, a bubble bath, reading on a comfy couch.... I can't think of anything else.

my reward when i drop 5lbs will be going shoppin for a new pair of heels (i love shoes)..when I reach 130 i will let myself get a new laptop...wooohooo

hope the group is not closed yet...i would love to join....

CW- 148

GW - 120

I would like to reach my goal weight by the end of june, but I want to loose at least 20-25lb by end of May. I am starting a new job in June and my reward would be to get new clothes for myself.

Started charting calories, and am averaging 1200-1400 daily.....started going to the gym last week, work out daily 3 hours, on the elliptical and bike, burn 700 cals.....planning to start some weights soon....

this is the best time for me to start since i am post (pre menstrual binging :) )

day 3 of the gym and i can feel myself weakening...pushing harder though...the next day i feel real good.....

yay! more people! =)

tyrdrop: I'm a materials engineer.  Lots of talk of atoms and molecules shifting about and whatnot.

So updates on my goal: or wait...am I a week late?  I'm confused...
I did workout 4 times!  hurrah!
and I had a mini-binge, as in I only ate around 700 cals, but I was definitely in binging mindset.

My weigh in: 138  (up one lb from a while ago, but I also partied pretty hard this weekend and TTOM is coming in a week or so)

My goal this week is to have at least a 200 cal deficit everyday.
oh! and not to give in to PMS bingeing!  (Thanks for reminding me, rds2k, I'm soooo bad about it too.)

Other rewards on my list are:
healthy cookbooks  (I don't have time to cook, but I love the idea of it.)
movie nights
magazines
jewelry, clothes, etc.
workout gear
a new playlist

Aunty36, What do you mean by eating cut-off time? No meal longer than an hour? Stop eating by 8 PM?

,& SweatyPants  Binging  is a bad trip - mine is always trigered by carbs, so i restrict them to dinner. That's when I eat the majority of my cals, so I get filled up with balance of protein, fat, and high-quality carbs (hee, hee, as I sit here drinking a beer). I finish up in an hour and am FULL! So no binge triggered. But if I'm not feeling well and comfort myself with some nice warm toast in the middle of the day...Binge starter!

Well, today was kind of a rough day, but it ended up fine.  I am a bit stressed and busy and what-not, but Its 7 pm after dinner and I'm around 1600 calories, planning on maybe havnig a 100 calorie snack in a few hours, but nothing before then (I'll be pretty busy).

I'm waiting on weighing in until tomorrow, since I always retain a ton of water over the weekend (combination of eating salty foods, sometimes being dehydrated... heh heh...., and not working out on saturday or sunday) which sometimes adds up to 3 pounds.... man. But either way, its discouraging, so I'm gonna see what it is tomorrow.

Lastly, rds2k- are you only eating 1200-1400 calories on top of working out 3 hours every day on the elliptical/bike?  1400, subtract 700, only gives you a net intake of 700 calories... you need to up that.  Net intake it supposed to roughly be 1200 at its lowest.... Otherwise, you're going to fall off the bandwagon pretty quickly I think.  But we're always open for new members :-)

i do have my cheat days on weekends when i eat out, it goes upto 1600-1800 calories.....im trying to create a calorie deficit enough to loose 2 lb/week......:) i hope i have enugh mental strength to keep it up....

Well, last week on tuesday I was 162.5, and this morning I was 160.5! Woo hoo! 2 pounds!  So motivational... I might actually dip below 160 soon! That would be so great!

congrats tyrdrop! I'm so happy for you, and just a tad bit jealous.

beaglated - I'm a bottomless pit when it comes to carbs.  Anything else, I can eat in moderation and be satisfied.  I'm really cautious with carbs too and only eat premeasured amounts.  (mmm beeeeer....)

I had a "I look fabulous" moment this morning despite my PMS water retention.  They're so rare, so I treasured every second of it!

I'm adding on to my week goal of having deficit of 200:
workout at least 4 times (1 down already)
do yoga at least twice (being flexible makes me confident )

PS - this is the longest I've gone without a major binge in maybe 6 months now.  thank you all for helping me stick to my guns!

I haven't met my first challenge these past 2 days.  PMS is not being kind to me.
On the plus side, I haven't binged and I've been making sure to eat nutritious foods (and minimal amts of junk food to satiate those cravings).

I worked out a bit today, but felt really crummy and gave up after a while and I did yoga 2 days ago.
2ish workouts done
2 yoga sessions done!

I'm going to take it easy this weekend in terms of stress and work and keep trying for that deficit, and really get back on the wagon on Monday.

The pains of being female.

this thread constitutes a challenge and as such needs to be in the Games and Challenges Forum.. 

Please tag it so you can follow it when it moves to that Forum.

Thank you

Coach K
Volunteer Moderator

I am not sure if we are still located here but here goes...

I have not posted in a while mainly because I am in the middle of exams (finishing up my last year of law school) and that always plays havoc with my eating and good intentions.

On a positive note, I have challenged myself to do Jillian Micheals 30 day shred workout out DVD. The challenge is to do it every day for the next 30 days. The workout is only 20 minutes long and the cardio portion kicks my butt. I am on day 5. Working out is also something that I ususally let go during exams and when I do, it seems to compound my bad eating habits - this way, I am least doing one good thing every day. And trying to formulate a habit - I heard it takes two weeks to get into a new one.

beaglated, you asked about my eating cut off time. I try to stop eating by 8 pm every night even on the weekends (though this past week has been a struggle). I am a late night snacker, so my giving myself a concrete eating cut off time, I save myself a lot of calories. If I do cave, I try tea first, then fruit and then something light (a cracker and hummus w cheese is what I had tonight).

Congrats to everyone one who has met their goals. Here to getting healthy!

i remember exam time in med school....late nights of reading accompanied by lotsa munching....and id end up feeling fat and bloated....after the whole cycle......

for this week , i decided to take a break for a day from working out , and felt so lazy that i dint go the next day either......

but on the plus side, i have managed to reduce my workout time by half an hour and maintain the same calorie loss....my calorie intake is still 1400 or fluctuating thereabouts.....though i binged on the day i dint go to the gym- cheat day.....

weigh in today - 141 lb....yeah....hopefully i can keep this up....

Sunday Weigh In  (#2) !

> 5/15 Goal = 180. Progress: Lost 1.7 lbs from 184.3 to 182.6

I thought I'd be stalling out at this point in the diet - oops, new eating habits - which is why I set such a modest goal, but I'm still averaging 1.5 per week.  Whew.

> Weekly goal = carb binge recovery, 2nd week. Progress: No binges! I've found two new little treats - organic dark chocolate drops: 7 of them = 1/2 oz and I eat them slooowwwlllyyy; and medjool dates: a couple are ~1 oz for a good end of day treat.  (And at the very end so it doesn't trigger a binge.)

> This week's goal: move my carb/protein/fat ratios. They were at 40/26/34 for last month and I'd like to get in a few more carbs and less fat. Dare I try toast at breakfast without triggering cravings? Gasp! maybe an apple at dinner??!! (I've had no fruit for weeks!)