Posts by pcarpintero

Hi guys! I'm so glad we're all trying out this minimum workout thing and flutterby!!!! You sound like you're doing awesome! Your tone even sounds happier! I'm so glad you're do the couch to 5K! That's so great. I just weighed in and I was:

CW: 124 (That's down from last week!!!)

I've been running the stairs and they've been kicking my ass!! I love it!! I didn't log my food this week, just ate healthy and had small portions. With working out, i don't think i could have over eaten but I really need to start logging again next week. I don't usually log on the weekends. 

I'll be running the stairs again this evening, gotta wait til it cools off a bit.

Have a great weekend!!!!

Do you all think that that "minimum" is good enough? I just kind of threw it out there. That's kind of my default workout if I don't get to something more. I think it's a great all around way to just stay active. Well, cool, I'm glad you guys are into it. So my goal from now on is to at least complete that minimum but preferably do more. 

Happy Hump Day!!!

Hey guys, 

I had a thought just now... and you all tell me what you think...

Would you all be interested in a little "challenge" to kind of spice up our workouts?

This is what I was thinking and everyone's input and suggestions are fully welcomed. What if we created a minimum workout plan and at the very least all we have to do per day is complete our minimum workout. And it won't matter in what order you do the workout, just as long as you do it, just as long as we all do it.

I feel like as this group that we've created, we need to push ourselves more and encourage each other to get out and be active. I love that we can just rant and rave about what's going on with us but more than anything (and I think you'll agree) I would like us all to see results and to meet our short and long term goals. My hopes with this minimum workout would be that we'll all start to at least do the minimum and inevitably, we'll want to work harder and harder and hopefully we'll all start doing much more than a minimum workout etc. 

This is just an example of what I'm talking about and I think as a collective, we should all figure out what works best for everyone and then decide on what our minimum workout is:

30 crunches

30 push-ups

20-30 minutes of cardio

Something like that. Something that we can all manage and something that's just going to get us all going. Like I said this would be a minimum workout for the day, so you can do 10 crunches in the morning and 20 later or whatever, break it up however suits you best, etc. And of course if you can and want to do more, do it.

K, well this was a long thought and a long post so I apologize for that but I'd love to hear what you all think.

Subway, try zig zagging your calories. Eat high one day and low the next, that usually works for me. I think your body gets used to eating the same amount of calories for too long and then plateaus. Giving it more cals to burn one day and less the next will kind of wake it up again, things won't be so humdrum. Your body will notice something different is happening and start reacting. 

On the bright side, you're staying at the same weight, not gaining so that's not too bad. Have fun on your vacay and forget about counting calories, you'll enjoy yourself more! 

I had another good workout day. I worked on abs in the morning and then after work I ran the stairs near my house 6 times up and down! Then I went over to the grass and stretched, worked my abs again and worked my arms out using one of my pilates rubber bands. I feel pretty good. I ate well for breakfast and dinner but I'm not so sure about lunch. I went out with some co-workers and we ate at a salad shop. They make your salad fresh right in front of you but I'm afraid their dressings are really high in fat. I should have asked for dressing on the side but I didn't want to be difficult. At least it was a salad and not a burger but it's bothered me all day not knowing how many calories I ate.  

My fiance and I singed up for the Nike 10K on 8/31. We have 17 days to prep for a 6 mile race. I have no hopes of coming close to winning so we're just gonna focus on finishing in under an hour and a half. I hope that's not too ambitious.

How is everyone doing? I hope you're all making progress. I don't feel any different from last week, so I don't expect to see a drop in weight at tomorrows weigh in but I am glad that I stuck to my workouts this week. I hope I can keep it up. We'll see what the scales says.

Flutterby, that's awesome!!! Congrats!

I feel like I may have found my motivation too... at least for the past few days. I've been working from home and every hour or so, I drop to the floor and do a dozen or so crunches and other ab exercises. I'm about to go on a run. I've been running about 1.5 miles around my neighborhood and Tuesdays and THursdays as often as I can I run with my marathon friend and his team, so that's my plan for tomorrow. 

I weighed in on Friday and forgot to post

CW:127

My little bro stayed over for the weekend and for the most part I ate fine but I did have a grilled cheese and fries on Saturday at the bowling alley, oh well. My boyfriend and I are going veggie for the week to detox. We make something called "vegginner", sounds funny I know. It's basically a steamed veggie, couscous or brown rice, and a veggie pattie or tofu. We love it. So I went out and bought all the makings for a weeks worth of vegginner. My plan of attack for the week is to have my lunches prepared the night before even if I'm working from home that way I don't over eat and I'm not tempted to go for the bad stuff. But since it's all gonna be vegetarian this week, I'm not anticipating too much bad food going in me.

The Godiva chocolate is finally gone, LOL! Thanks to yours truly but with the help of many others that were over this weekend. I do keep Skinny Cow Ice cream bars in the fridge for when I need to feed into my sweet tooth so I should be okay.

Veggigeek, what part of Canada are you in? I visit Vancouver at least once a year. I have friends there and besides that, I absolutely love it so I've been a few times just to visit the city. I really want to move there at some point. I work in advertising and Vancouver has a pretty strong advertising scene.

Subway, I know exactly what you mean. I used to feel the same way about running. I was so good at the elliptical trainer I could go for way over an hour and be fine but the second I got on the treadmill, forget about it. About three months ago, I decided I didn't want to pay for my gym membership anymore and instead, I wanted to be more outdoorsy with my exercise routine and that's when I forced myself to start running. Then I started training with my friend who runs marathons and he gave me a really easy running schedule that's practically fool proof. You start by running 5 minutes and walking 1 minute and you do this for about an hour twice a week and slowly, you'll build your endurance and running is going to become so much fun. I literally have fun when I run (and I didn't mean for that to rhyme). I really encourage you to keep at it, running is so great for your body. Now that I know what running actually feels like, like beyond the aching lungs,  I don't think I will ever stop. Right now, I can run about 3 miles with maybe one or two 1 minute breaks and I'm assuming if I continue, I'll be running in the double digits at some point in the next year. Try it out and let me know how you feel.

Have a great week everyone!!!!

is eating 4 pieces of Godiva chocolate sticking to my goals? Aaarrrgh!!! I don't know what's wrong with me these days! I've been really careless and indulgent. I didn't run today, but I've been going on these long walks with my dogs, 3 miles yesterday and 6 miles today. No abs though but the night is still young. I'll let you all know if I actually do my crunches. I'm planning out my meals for tomorrow right now, hopefully I can stick to the program. I don't have work tomorrow, so working out will be much easier.

well I'm no expert, but I'd say you're pretty doomed. The foods you listed is no way for anybody to eat. Forget about what you'll look like on the outside, consider what you're doing to your insides. You're hair and skin will soon follow suit too. They need vitamins and water to stay vibrant and healthy.

Definitely continue to work out. Everything you listed was processed. Consider cutting back on certain food and drink you're currently consuming. Like the monster, for example, that doesn't seem like a hard thing to kick. If you're gonna eat all of that other junk at least limit your liquids to water. And there are substitutes to chicken and beef, what about turkey, fish, or tofu? You NEED lean proteins. Do you like rice? Have some brown rice and black beans. Make it a point to take a multivitamin and a fish oil pill for your hair and skin. Have cereal as a snack instead of laffy taffy. Try drinking a nutritional supplement like ensure instead of a meal, it'll be like drinking a milkshake and you'll get some nutritional value out of it. There has to be a way for you to get your serving of fruits and vegetables, drink V-8 or something or better yet, just suck it up and eat them, it's not that big of a deal. After a while you might start to like one or two. try preparing them different ways. 

Where there's a will there's a way. If you really care, you'll figure out what's best for you. I think you know the answer to your own question already. You're doing your health a disservice and everyone will tell you the same. 

LOL, I got to work this morning and there was a fresh box of YumYum donuts sitting next to the coffee.  And then about an hour later I was called to a meeting and the box was at our table!!! It was like I was being chased by this deliciously evil box... I managed stay clear of it though, but man was it hard! 

I agree, one day of f***ing up isn't so bad if you recover in time and get back on track. After my pie feast on Saturday I've cut my calories down and upped the exercise and that's how I plan on finishing up the week. Hopefully I see a drop in weight or I at least stay the same by Friday. 

Aaaaaaaarrrrrrghhhhh!!!! I had such an awful weekend!!! I totally went over my calorie limit on Saturday. I went to a "pie party"!!!! Hello? WTF?! It was a friends b-day and she doesn't like cake instead she asked people to bring pie and pie is what they brought... about 15 different types!!! I had a small sliver of strawberry cream and a small sliver of apple but this was after a full dinner and in combo with a few glasses of wine!!! I feel like such a heffer today. I tried my best to eat on the lower spectrum of my calorie intake yesterday and I'm doing the same today. I think I'm going to try to stay between 1200-1400 (I usually consume between 1600-1800) for a few more days to even myself out. On the bright side I did bike to the party and it was about 4 miles round-trip. Doubt I burned off the pies, but it was a start. I'm running today for sure... I can't believe I ate pie :( We'll see what I've done to myself at this Fridays weigh in.

Subwaybusker, 

I run almost everyday and I think that when i started I may have been sore but after a while, the soreness goes away. I recommend going for a hard run one day and maybe a jog/walk on the days you're sore until your body gets used to it. After a while, you'll be able to run through the soreness.

Here's some advice: I started training with my friends' marathon training team (I don't plan to run the marathon but I wanted to see if I could handle the training) and the way they do it is they run 5 minutes and walk 1 minute, run 5 walk 1, and they keep this up for about 1 1/2 hours two days per week. After a few weeks they'll increase the amount of time we run but for now, that's where we 're at and it makes it really manageable. I'm not a good runner but I can run for 5 minutes and not get too tired so this plan is fantastic for starters. Let me know if you try it out.

Vegetariangeek!!! We meet again! See, we have those CC twin vibes going!