in need of a good challenge...anyone want to join?

over the weekend, i stepped on the scales for the first time in about 6 months.  to my surprise, i'd GAINED about 6 pounds. 

i'm about 5'6 and according to the scales, i weigh 131 lbs.  i'd LIKE to be around the 120-125 range.

i try to eat very healthy, and the scales surprised me because just lately, i've started to watch what i eat.  6 months ago, i was snacking on junk food and drinking sodas....and i haven't had a chip or a coke in more than a month.  i drink close to 80 oz of water a day, i have at LEAST 5 servings of fruit/vegetables every day, and i choose wholegrain, multigrain, and whole wheat bread for everything from english muffins to hot dog/hamburger buns (and those i seldom eat). 

i'd really like to drop this extra baggage and have some "buddies" try it along with me.  

i think a month from today would be plenty of time to drop 5-10 lbs. 

so the door is open if anyone has an interest.  i'm really amped, but i tend to eat healthy and not exercise.  so having a few "buddies" to encourage me would really help me meet my goal, and i can also offer support to you guys. 

if anyone is interested....please reply. we can keep each other in check!

peace and love.  

im in!! i think ive hit a plateau..and its so frustrating!!

im 5'6" and im also hoping to be 125ish.

I gained a bit in weight and measurements..and am unsure how many calories I'm supposed to be eating. I'm 5'8", 155 (sometimes) lbs, and am 35 years old. I'd love to have another buddy to encourage! :)

I'm in as well!  I am 5'7" & around 135, 22 yrs old, wanting to be in the 120-125 range.  I feel like I exercise more now, and stay at around 1700 - 2200 cal a day, yet I feel like I'm gaining weight!

great!  i guess since i started this post...i'll be the first to post what types of things i eat everyday....and if anyone has any pointers for me, please please please....let me know where i'm going wrong.

breakfast: i usually have a multigrain english muffin with 1 tbsp of strawberry preserves, and 1/2 tbsp of cream cheese.  if not those toppings, i'll do a multigrain english muffin with 1 egg white, a pinch of shredded cheese, and put it together like a sandwich. 

sometimes...i will just have a cup of yogurt--the yoplait pro-digestive cup.  or i'll have 3-4 egg whites with a piece of whole wheat toast.

lunch: i was eating lean cuisines for a while...and then i noticed when i entered them on CC--they weren't making my report look very good, because most of them are graded as C's...and a few B's. 

over the past week, i've been eating sara lee chicken oven roasted chicken breast on whole wheat bread with mustard only.  a snack size ziploc bag of cherry tomatoes.  i'll also have a small navel orange.

afternoon snack: i usually eat a snack size ziploc bag of grapes and a granny smith apple, and about an oz of cashews or mixed nuts.

dinner: i rarely eat red meat or pork.  i ALWAYS substitute ground beef with ground turkey.  i steer clear of fried foods, and i bake or grill almost all meats.  my typical dinner is: grilled or pan seared chicken, a side of rice (usually wild rice), and a vegetable. 

so i feel like i get enough protein, fiber, and vegetables.  my meals are pretty well-balanced...but i am GAINING weight.  i KNOW i haven't been exercising enough, and that could be the reason for the weight-gain...but i tried to do too much at one time.  i was exercising, running every other day, and trying to play softball--and this was all SUDDEN after not exercising at all.  i just jumped in head-first without building up each day.  i pulled the muscles in both of my quadriceps and could hardly walk for two weeks.  i'm just getting to where i can bend my legs comfortably. 

let the exercise begin. 

I wouldn't mind joining in :) especially since I'm around the same goals... 5'7" and 140 trying to get to 133. I know my problem is snacking and learning how to stop when i'm full... recognizing that feeling and such. I'm really good about eating healthy but when I go for 1 ritz cracker or a handful of cheerios, I polish off the entire package. So some words of wisdom from you guys would be SPECTACULAR! It sounds like you all have pretty solid eating habits :)

I ♥ exercise! I walk 30 minutes a day at work with my mom and work out about 3-4 hours per week. Right now I'm switching up my workout schedule so I can focus more on school. I'm going to be working out Thursday - Sunday, 30 min of weights every day and then an additional 45 min of cardio on Saturdays and Sundays. Let's keep each other in check :)

what kind of challenge are we putting ourselves up to? I'd say challenge to work out 3 hours MINIMUM during the week... ideas?

looking forward to losing with all of you! :)

oh, and sneakafreaka, what time did you step on the scale? Were you dressed? Had you eaten? ttom? Water weight? I always weigh right after I wake up, after I go #1 and before I eat and in my birthday suit... best results and most satisfying :)

it was sunday morning after a st. patty's celebration saturday.  i only had three drinks that day, and i ate a chicken salad sandwich on wheat for lunch and i don't recall eating dinner that night....

oh, but on sunday i did have a pretty big lunch, right before i weighed.  i'd also drank 3 or 4 glasses of tea. 

that could've been a factor.  but even my husband said he's noticed that my stomach looks BLOATED...and it does. ugh.

and yes...i think that the workout goal is a great idea.  i will really push myself. 

3 hours a week.  i think that is like 26 minutes a day. (if you do it every day) 

i'm down.

i would've had softball practice for 3.5 hours today, but it's raining here...so it's going to get cancelled.  which means, i'll have to workout inside my house with my body ball and resistance bands.

good luck, friends!

I know you said you drink a lot of water but is maybe your sodium high? hidden salt anywhere? I know the DAY after a high sodium anything I feel/look like the michelin tireman.. lol... a few days after chugging water and avoiding salt I begin to look normal again.

Let's see... I did 30m on the ellpitical Monday, planning 30m lower body weights tomorrow night, 30m upper body weights Friday night, 30m lb Saturday morning, 45m elliptical Saturday afternoon, 30m up Sunday morning and 45m elliptical Sunday afternoon... I think that takes me to 4 hours? Now... I just have to do it ;) And I may just do 30m on elliptical... gotta see how much time I have... It's Easter Sunday!

how many of us are in school?? i could really use some motivation in that department too... lol...

sodium could be it.  i drink about 80+ oz of water a day.  that's equal to 10 8 oz glasses of water.  the only things that i can think of that may be high in sodium would be the nuts i eat. 

i pretty much eat the same things during the week...and most of it is fruit and grape tomatoes.  i go through two packages of tomatoes a week, almost an entire bag of oranges, a 2 lb bag of grapes, and 3-4 granny smith apples.  i don't use much salt when i cook vegetables.  i usually use a bouillion (if that's how you spell it) packet. 

i took some herbal colon cleansing stuff in hopes that maybe i will not feel so BLOATED anymore.

if the rain holds out, i'll be practicing softball for three hours tonight.  if it does not hold out...then i'll be jumping rope and using my body ball.  i will report back tomorrow what i achieved.

is ttom anywhere near? I jump a couple lbs from that... I drink about the same amount of water... do you carry your own tp yet? I'm about to.. lol.. and it looks like we have similar grocery lists too... definitely a bag of oranges a week over here! lately I've been getting cara cara b/c they're mildly cheaper...

good luck with the cleansing. just be careful with that jumprope tonight; could be a bad combo.. lol

no workout for me today... I have class tonight...

You need to eat more love!

were you referring to me when you said i need to eat more??  i eat at LEAST four meals a day...and most of the time i'm not even hungry when i eat those...i just eat so that i consume enough calories in a day. 

i just eat fruit/veggies for most of the "meals/snacks" that i consume. but i definitely eat plenty.

wednesday, march 19, 2008:

BREAKFAST: multigrain english muffin toasted, cooked egg white, and a sprinkle of shredded cheese (made it into a egg muffin)

LUNCH: sandwich on whole wheat bread, deli-sliced chicken breast, slice of muenster cheese, a snack size ziploc bag filled with grape tomatoes.

SNACK around 3:00: snack size ziploc bag filled with green grapes, and a snack size ziploc bag (not filled to the brim) with cashews.  probably aobut 1-2 oz. 

SNACK around 5:00: granny smith apple

DINNER around 8:00: cooked shrimp, spanish rice with diced tomatoes, green peas and mushrooms. 

i drank 80 oz of water, and 1 glass of tea.

i think that's plenty of food for a person as small as me.  i'm 5'6 and weigh about 129-130 lbs. i wear a size THREE.  i can't eat much more than that. 

hello :) how was your workout yesterday? I envy your food plan, I think it sounds pretty sufficient... yum, cashews...

I'm lifting weights today... I feel like such a beast when I lift weights :P love it! this will be taking place approximately around 345pm... I will pop in at 430 to let all know how it went :)

what's the workout plan for today?

any other random goals? I have to do homework- yay, and stay away from sweets... easy peasy... I've been eating too many sweets these past few days and don't really need to get into that habit... again

well, i played softball for an hour yesterday...practice was supposed to last 3 hours, but it got rained out.  when i got home, my left leg was so sore i had to soak in a hot bath and then have my husband massage the knot out of my quadricep with icyhot for an hour or so.  he helped me stretch my muscle so it wasn't so bad when i woke up this morning.  a friend of mine is going to walk with me tonight...so that'll be fun. 

i did some squats and lunges when i woke up this morning...naked...in the living room.  hahaa.  nobody was up to watch.  lol

today, i had whole wheat toast (2 pieces) with 1 tbsp of strawberry preserves for breakfast, a cup of yoplait plus digestive yogurt, and 1 cup of skim milk. 

i packed fruit and vegetables for the rest of the day.  no meat.  no nuts today.  =(  tonight, i'm going to eat at a friend's house and she's also watching her weight...so i'm sure we'll have something healthy.  i'll have to report in tomorrow.

other random goals...hmm.  mine is really just trying to exercise more....i'm not a sucker for sweets...so i don't crave them often.  i don't eat much junk food either. 

that was nice of your husband :) I really enjoy walking.. hate, hate running, but I could walk or bike ride all day if allowed.

lol... I'm afraid to be in my apartment naked b/c of 1 large window... even though I'm on the third floor, if someone drives by at the perfect spot, they could see all my girl parts :P so I try to keep myself fully clothed for that reason :)

I had oatmeal with raisins and vanilla coffee for breakfast. Had a banana for snack. a turkey sandwich w/whole wheat bread and mustard, and a potato/eggplant mix side for lunch. For dinner I'm going to panera which will be high sodium but I decided on some relatively low cal stuff... 1/2 of a roast beef sandwich and french onion soup, no croutons/cheese... mmmm... I'll have an orange when I get home from work before dinner so I don't gnaw off my arm by the time I get there...

Wish I could stay away from sweets and junk food... That's what I was raised on... old habits die hard.. but now I'm learning new habits!

have fun on your walk and enjoy dinner!!

i LOVE french onion soup.

how did you do with exercise? good I hope :) I did a half hour of upper body weight lifting and a half hour of elliptical... yeah!!

french onion soup is soooo good :)

I definately need some motivation and help. I think I need to drop 10-15lbs. I swim 3 times a week for now, I also rollerblade when its warm out but right now its too snowy and cold. I lost 10lbs, gained back 8 and now I feel horrible. I need to just suck it up and lose the weight already. I'm going on a big trip to Rome, Turkey, Greece, and Egypt this summer and I want to look dead sexy in my tank tops and bikinis.

Is it too late to join?

hey 1000umbrellas... never too late :)

hwo are your eating habits? I exercise a lot but the scale doesn't BUDGE unless I have the diet to go with it... that trip sounds so awesome!!!! I lost 15 lbs and gained back 7 over the holidays... time to get that other 8 off again :)