July - Slimming Minis

Challenge yourself to create the good habits to achieve your health goals. 

This challenge was originally started to be for folks under 5'4", but it evolved to be an all-comers challenge. So welcome, and I hope you enjoy participating!  Let's get slim and trim together.  You can start anytime.  You may not be the challenger with the most points at the end of the month, but you'll still be a winner.  GOOD LUCK ! ! !

(If you just want to post your goals for the day, that's ok, too.)

Here are the guidelines:

• Email me your starting weight.
• 2 points each for every 8 ounces of water. Plain or bottle (No flavors)
• 3 points for each 15 minutes of workout time. This is structured workouts - as in you went for a walk with the intention of it being exercise - and there are no points for anything other than 15 minute intervals.
• 1 point if you complete a physical challenge.
• 1 point if you complete a personal challenge.
• Send your weight at the end of the month.
• Person with the most points wins.

Note: 1 point bonus if you suggest a challenge! You can suggest a challenge by posting it in the thread or by messaging me and I'll post it. Challenges can be completed at any time during the month - just tell me which one you did after you do it. Just give your challenge a title and give a brief description of how to complete it, and you're good to go (and you get an extra point!) For example: "I would like to challenge everyone to do 10 pushups today." would be a physical challenge. "I would like everyone to do 5 minutes of quiet reflection/meditation" would be a personal challenge."

Please send your information to me via private message daily or every other day in the following format:
3x 8 oz of water
45 minutes of treadmill
completed side bend challenge

If you go out of town please let me know ahead of time, and then when you get back please send me your points broken down by dates.

I usually update points every few days.

Post or message me if you have any questions.

Good luck everyone!

The Contenders - JULY - Points to date Jul. 30

nev2179 - 419

spacedreamer01 -  67

judy_ -

kyashiis - 734

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Physical Challenges

Change It Up! - Try a workout you've never done before (1 point per new activity tried)

Strength Training - One point for at least 15 minutes of strength training - this will also get you 3 regular exercise points!

Crunches - As many sets of 25 as you can (max 1 point per day)

Pushups - As many sets of 25 as you can (max 1 point per day)

Plank - Hold the plank position for 20-30 seconds (1 point per day)

Squats - with your weight centered over the middles of your feet, squat down and stand back up again. Keep your knees centered over your toes and your back straight. Repeat as many times as you can - try it in sets of 10-25 (max 1 point per day)

Jumping jacks - one, two! one, two! try a few sets of jumping jacks (max 1 point per day)

Zany workout! - one point per day for the oddest, most creative workout you can think of

Positive Challenges

5-a-day - eat the recommended 5 fruits/veg a day (recurring)

Go Outside - enjoy the great outdoor

Litter Busters - Pick up a piece of trash when you go outside

Eat Breakfast - The most important meal of the day!

Reading - get one point per day for picking up the book you've been meaning to read (if you want to share what you are reading with others, post about it)

Finish a Book - back by popular demand - one point for every book you finish

8 a Day H2O - You will receive one extra point per day if your water totals 8 x 8 oz or more.

Straight A Students - log in your food and get an A for the day, and you get a point

Set a Goal - one point for setting a total points goal for the month

Meet Your Goal - one point for reaching your goal

Get Some Sleep - get at least 7.5 hours of sleep a night

Stay Under Your Personal Maintenance Calorie Level - one point

Log Your Food By Midnight - one point

Zany Workouts - one point

Post a comments to others - one point for supporting others

This is where I'll be posting your creative/crazy workouts ...

I realize that I am doing poorly on getting my exercise in.  I will make a good effort to get at least 15 minutes done as well as all of the calisthenics.

Nev.  Great going on the water.  I know it helps me lose weight and keeps my body regulated nicely.

Hi, this sounds like just what I need. I printed out everything.

thanks

Judy

Yay! Welcome judy_! We've had the same crowd doing the challenge for a few months now so it's great to see a new face.

Folks - although I don't have time to consistently track my points, I'll pop in from time to time to check in. I'm proud that for the first time in a few weeks, I managed to drink my 8x8oz of water yesterday and I had a great 5 mile run. Yippie!

Yay - I found the July challenge! 

I just sent my points from yesterday.  I included 15 minutes of exercise from going to the batting cages with my son!  We actually went on the 7th, but I didn't really feel like it was exercise until my abs were hurting yesterday! 

We had a lot of fun, and I hope to do it again soon!

It seems like the best way to "exercise" is to have fun.  When I can't seem to force myself to do "regular" exercise, I dance.  Then, I turn the dancing into aerobics and the first thing you know I'm doing the calistenic stuff too.

I got more than 4 glasses of water today...  That was a mini-goal for me.  It's now almost 11 pm.  My work just ended, and what I really want is a glass of wine, but I don't want the calories.  So... I'm sipping water.

I guided on Sunday and Monday.  Neither of them were hard hikes, but it was so hot I really sweated buckets as well as getting in several hours of exercise.  We took the guests to hot springs after walking both times.  Still, I am a little sore.  We went out to dinner last night.  I had been anticipating it all day long, so I was really hungry.  I actually had hunger pangs and a growling stomach. 

I did a lot of yard work on Friday and Sunday and was sweating buckets too.  I "took off" yesterday!  No exercise at all.  I was too tired from the weekend.  Have a trip coming up this weekend and next week, so I'll do my best to track everything.  I know I'll get a lot of walking in!

This is a tiring time of the year for me.  I have so many obligations.  Today, I worked hard all day long with no break.  Then, we took our guests out to karaoke after 10 pm.  I have to be the emcee at a meeting.  It is hard work for me to be the emcee in Japanese.  I will be so glad when that obligation is finished.

nev - I won't be getting much exercise either... but, I am doing the jumping rope, push ups and so forth a little at a time throughout the day.  It really makes a big difference in how our bodies burn off the calories and only takes a few minutes here and there. 

Last night I attended a banquet.  I was in charge of entertainment for the evening.  I was tired from my heavy schedule.  I can't ever remember being too tired to eat, but I was last night.  It helped me get points because I didn't go over my maintenance...  But, what a way to get points.  I arranged for some a couple of ladies in the group to do the hula and then teach us some moves.  I got a good solid 20 minutes in of hula dancing for a zany activity... LOL

I am making a commitment to drinking 8 glasses of water today and getting the first of 12 3K runs done.

I think it was good that I posted my commitment yesterday, so I'll do it again today.  I commit to the following today:

• 8 glasses of water
• stay in calorie range for the day

I managed to stay in my calorie range yesterday.  I only got 6 glasses of water down though.  I did drink a lot of other liquid though...

I commit to the following today:

• 15 min exercise
• 3 min jump roping
• 2 calisthenic exercises
• 1,100 cals
• 6 glasses of water (with the ultimate goal of beating this)

I more than an hour of exercise and stayed within my calorie limit for the day.  I forgot the jump roping and calisthenics as we were gone from home all day long.  I got 3 glasses of water in.  Pretty poor..., but I did get more than 6 glasses of liquids in through out the day.  I was feeling fat after getting home.  I want to get more crunches done to combat that feeling.

I commit to the following today:

• 30 min exercise
• 3 min jump roping
• crunches

I only got 1 min of jump roping done.  I didn't make a special commitment to other things yesterday, but I did very well on my health care goals.  I was especially happy to get 8 glasses of water in.  I did four in the morning and four throughout the afternoon and evening.  That seems to work. 

I think today when I commit, I will commit with the most important to me being numbered as number 1., then 2, etc.  I'll see if that motivates me better.

I commit to the following today:

1. 15 min exercise / calisthenics / jump roping
2. 8 glasses of water
3. get outside

I got one calisthenics and one jump roping done yesterday.  I got 8 glasses of water down.  I also got outside and cleaned the garbage can. 

I commit to the following today:

1. stay in my cal limit for the day
2. run 3K
3. jump rope

I stayed within a few numbers of my cal limit for the day yesterday, and I got the run and jump roping done.  Yay... I can do three things.

I commit to the following today:

1. 30 minutes exercise
2. stay in cal limit for the day
3. drink 8 glasses of water

The only thing I got done was staying within my calorie limit for the day.  No exercise to speak of and only four glasses of water.  Goes to show, I have to fill up the 1 liter bottle in the morning and put it by the computer.  Then another one to sip throughout the afternoon.  I feel a lot better when I get the water in that way too.

I commit to the following for today and tomorrow (out of town).

1. drink 8 glasses of water (hard to do, so developing coping skills)
2. go for a 3K run at Mt. Koya (if the rain isn't too bad)
3. stay under maintenance calorie level

I did well on water.  I didn't go for a run as it was rainy most of the time.  Luckily, when we were being guided, we had mostly good weather.  I managed to stay under maintenance level with all the low-cal vegetarian food.  We walked a one hour on the first day and three hours on the second day, too.  Also, there was a festival and traditional dancing.  Tamiyo and I joined the dancing for about a half hour.  It was really fun.  So, both days endend up being pretty healthy despite the snack type food here and there.

It's a little late in the day to be making commitments, but better late than never.  I am at the limit of my calories for the day today.  I have drunk four glasses of water and walked a little.

I commit to the following to finish before midnight tonight:

1. drink 4 glasses of water
2. do three exercises of some kind
3. not go over calories