Find Your Own "Directive" - the February Weight Loss / Life Style Change Challenge

[Lady Marie]

(current favorite is the Yasso coconut)

Yes!!!!! DH was in love with the mint chocolate chip and I thought he was crazy until I tried the salted caramel and now I'm in love too! I can't believe those things are 100 calories.... yum!!!

What exercises do you do to help shed those pounds quicker?
How many minutes per day do you try to work out?

This Weeks' Challenge: Try one new exercise option this week and see how it feels.
(ie: try a stair climber machine, run on a treadmill for 20 minutes, lift weights, etc)

My current exercise routine is getting on the elliptical for the length of a Will and Grace episode (my oldest yet newest obsession since DH got me the DVDs for my birthday!). So I am at about 22 minutes for three days a week (but inconsistently last month-- hoping to make this my routine this month). It sounds small, but I am coming out of a very sedentary lifestyle so I am trying to build up a routine that I am actually able to keep up and build upon next month. I also bought some hand weights and have been using those too to try to tone up my flying squirrel arms-- they are bad!

I like the challenge of trying to incorporate something new this week. I love yoga-- so I'm going to look around for a class that fits my schedule!

 

[knkmom]

Question of the Day - February 8

Let's talk... Exercise.
Eating healthier is only one factor in losing weight. You also need to increase activity levels and work it out.
Wall-e has learned a few moves and is doing his best to impress Eve. Surely through your weight loss endeavors you have
learned or adopted some exercise routines that are helping you on the path to losing weight and feeling great.

What exercises do you do to help shed those pounds quicker?
How many minutes per day do you try to work out?

This Weeks' Challenge: Try one new exercise option this week and see how it feels.
(ie: try a stair climber machine, run on a treadmill for 20 minutes, lift weights, etc)

​

I was actually really good yesterday, we did order pizza and I had 2 pieces but logged it all in MFP and I was still under my totals for the day in all areas so I feel ok about it. Not the best choice when it comes to food but reality is I'm going to eat these things at some time or another throughout the rest of my life and learning to manage it all is how I'm going to continue to lose weight!

As for exercise, my goal is 30 minutes of cardio a day, walking, stationary bike or elliptical. This week I managed to exercise 6 of the 7 days which considering I wasn't exercising before, that's a major win for me! I'm going to keep it the same for this week and then starting next week I'm going to add in weights. We have a weight set in our bonus room and it's time to dust it off and use it!

 

[Dr Gunnie]

I was actually really good yesterday, we did order pizza and I had 2 pieces but logged it all in MFP and I was still under my totals for the day in all areas so I feel ok about it. Not the best choice when it comes to food but reality is I'm going to eat these things at some time or another throughout the rest of my life and learning to manage it all is how I'm going to continue to lose weight!

I never knew it existed, but I tried the "Skinny Pizza" at Pizza Hut this weekend and was pretty pleased. It's the same dough, just a thinner crust and I went light on the cheese. It was only 160 calories a slice. Like you said, you aren't going to totally cut pizza out forever. This was a pretty good alternative to the regular stuff.

 

[5xdisneyfans]

Question of the Day - February 8

Let's talk... Exercise.
Eating healthier is only one factor in losing weight. You also need to increase activity levels and work it out.
Wall-e has learned a few moves and is doing his best to impress Eve. Surely through your weight loss endeavors you have
learned or adopted some exercise routines that are helping you on the path to losing weight and feeling great.

What exercises do you do to help shed those pounds quicker?
How many minutes per day do you try to work out?

This Weeks' Challenge: Try one new exercise option this week and see how it feels.

(ie: try a stair climber machine, run on a treadmill for 20 minutes, lift weights, etc)

​

I set myself a goal at the beginning of the year to walk every other day for a min. 3k. This month I am upping the distance and adding some other exercises on my non walk days. I started using a agenda to write my workout plan for each day before the week starts so I have my goals set for the week.

Walked another 3.9k this morning bringing my total for this months goal to 14.5k/60k

 

[pjlla]

Hi friends! Happy Monday! I'm working at school today and needed to leave the house early, so I had no time to pop on earlier.

Snow expected here later today/tonight, so all our evening activities have been cancelled and afternoon kindergarten has been cancelled as well. It makes me wish I was a Kindergarten sub today instead of an office sub. That being said, I prefer being here!

I was all set to come on here today and BRAG about what a great day I had (food-wise) on SuperBowl Sunday! I avoided the pizza at lunch (at robotics) the pizza at dinner (at home). I had a big salad, a very light homemade "pizza" and some popcorn and a light beer (all well within my daily SP) and then..... DS offered some chocolate. I intended to eat one square and enjoy it... but of course I ate FIVE! WHY, oh why!!?? I had had such a successful day up until 9pm! GRRR.. STUPID.

Anyhow.... onward and downward I suppose! I'm assuming that I ate most or all of my WEEKLY SP, so I'll erase them all and stick with my daily's and hopefully won't see any negative effects on the scale.

Back to work!...................P

 

[flvy]

I was awful. I made an onion dip I usually make for big parties. It's a block of cream cheese, cup of Parmesan, cup of mayo, a large Vidalia onion, black pepper and time, it gets baked and delicious. Usually I think ahead if it's not for a party and halve the recipe or split it up and put it in multiple containers. Not last night. DH and I ate at least 3/4 of it! I feel gross this morning. Making me feel worse? Another snow day with kids home today, which means no run or my normal circuit class for me today. Ugh.

Going right now to plan my food for today and enter it on MFP, and I'm determined to stick to it.

Be glad you didn't go out for a run today. My legs basically gave me the middle finger for two miles because they were just so stiff and cold. Don't worry about your dip either it's one day. One day doesn't hurt anything as long as it stays being one day!!

RUN! I run run run and that's about all I do. Throughout the week my runs are between 30-40 minutes. I run M, W, Th at those distances. Saturdays and Sundays are my longer runs and those range from 1-1.5 hours. I don't run for minutes though, unless I'm doing a tempo run. It's funny because I did not used to be a runner at all but now I love it.

As for the challenge - I do very limited strength training at home (like 15 reps of 5-7 different exercises for arms, legs, and core). I alternate and try not to do anything leg crazy as I don't want to mess with my runs. With that said, I'd really like to focus on my core this week so I'm going to try and do 3 core work outs. Last week I did 1 haha.

Whoo running!! Funny how loving it just sneaks up on you! What kind of things are you doing for your core? All I've got is planks so if I can mix it up that would be great.

 

[knkmom]

I never knew it existed, but I tried the "Skinny Pizza" at Pizza Hut this weekend and was pretty pleased. It's the same dough, just a thinner crust and I went light on the cheese. It was only 160 calories a slice. Like you said, you aren't going to totally cut pizza out forever. This was a pretty good alternative to the regular stuff.

Awesome, I'll have to check that out. We don't do pizza often but that is a great alternative and it won't make me feel like I'm doing something awful by eating a piece of pizza!

 

[flvy]

I will say if you ever want to feel like Elsa go for a run in the snow, just be careful it gets slippery.

 

[ohMom]

Tried to quote but it didn't work, user error I'm sure, anyhow wanted to chime in on the wrist Fitbit. I have just switched from the one to Surge. I had to calculate my stride step bc my normal walks, around the block and I realized the surge was not giving me enough steps. So I did some treadmill walking to confirm. Once I adjusted my own stride length it is counting more accurately, I am disappointed in that pushing a cart doesn't give me steps. I'm sure I look silly pushing one handed and letting my left arm swing. I love that the HR helps me know more accurately how much calories I'm burning for my workouts. But I do say that some exercises, it has to catch up. Meaning that I'll look at my screen and my heart rate is really low when I know it's pounding. If I wait a few seconds then it will catch up to a higher heart rate. Hope that makes sense. What I read online with that when you're doing exercises that involve the arm movement, the heart rate isn't as accurate of the vessel is moving. I wish that I would've held out a little longer and I would've bought the new one that's coming out, with the color screen and more attractive bands. Sorry can't think of the name at this time

This month is crazy busy for me, I'm starting week six of the eight week program exercise and still plugging away.

 

[pjlla]

@pjlla i have looked into dietbet before and I really want to do it! I need to look at it again. Supposedly it's set up so you technically CANT lose money. Somehow you always get at least your share back, if I understood correctly?

If you lose your 4% (that is what most of the shorter bets are requiring) you are guaranteed to get your original investment back (usually $30 or $35)..... and depending on the size of the pot and how many winners there are, you can make more. DD bet $35 and she won back $48.... not too bad... plus it was a great motivator. I'm running numbers to see if I am going to join the next one her. I would need to lose about 4.5 pounds in 4 weeks and in my current situation that would be a struggle.... but it certainly might get me moving more! ...............P

 

[dsnyfn1022]

Whoo running!! Funny how loving it just sneaks up on you! What kind of things are you doing for your core? All I've got is planks so if I can mix it up that would be great.

Right?? I hated running basically my whole life and then just recently realized that I love it. And I can run 3 miles or 7 miles and love it all the same!

As for core work, I do planks as well. I also have hand weights and resistance bands at home. So I do side bends where you bend at the waist from side to side. Then I do this core stabilization where I hold a dumbell and rotate from side to side. Then I do bow extensions where I lift the dumbell over my head and then crunch in with my knee. I also do crunches, reverse crunches, etc. If you have a pinterest account then you can search on there for some awesome, at home core workouts. Both standing and laying down. That's what I did and found a few different choices!

 

[donac]

Good afternoon every one.

Dh and I watched the Super Bowl by ourselves. I had made pizza but that is the all we really had for the game. I did go over yesterday but it did all go into my Sparkpeople account. I had been way below all my calories all week so yesterday was the day I allowed myself some leaway. I am back on track today and am ready to throw the apple pie into the freezer.

What exercises do you do to help shed those pounds quicker?
How many minutes per day do you try to work out?

This Weeks' Challenge: Try one new exercise option this week and see how it feels.

I have not found any exercise to help me lose weight faster. The only exercise that has helped me lose weight in the past is riding my exercise bike. I also like yoga. It may not be too cardio but it calms you so much that you really think about food and what you want in life.

I am going to try to get back to pilates to help me tone up.

Have a happy and healthy day.

 

[JacknSally]

I've never actually done any exercise to lose weight. When it's happened, it's just kind of.... happened. Which is another reason why doing this the "right way" is taking a big adjustment.

Just did the rowing machine, and I kind of love it. It's definitely going to take some getting used to - it requires a lot of coordination, and I'm not 1,000% sure I'm doing it the way I'm supposed to... Haha. But I rowed 1km in 6 minutes on an 8/10 setting. I definitely feel it in my arms!

I went ahead and put the Fitbit app on my phone again even though I haven't gotten the wristband yet. If anyone wants to be Fitbit friends, PLEASE add me! The competition-factor is a big reason why I ultimately went with Fitbit. My Fitbit email address is thelegetts@gmail.com

 

[pinklmaonade]

What exercises do you do to help shed those pounds quicker?
How many minutes per day do you try to work out?

This Weeks' Challenge: Try one new exercise option this week and see how it feels.
(ie: try a stair climber machine, run on a treadmill for 20 minutes, lift weights, etc)

To shed the pounds: normally i'd do weight training and a moderate amount of cardio (strengthening your muscles helps them burn more calories throughout the day than just cardio alone)... lately ive been doing a lot more cardio than normal because im training for the half in April. I definitely need to do more cross training though because all this cardio isnt taking the weight off like i need it to. SO this week i'm going to incorporate more cross training/strength training. definitely swim, but also maybe a spin class or something. have to jump start this!

Yesterday I ordered Nutrisystem. about 9-10 years ago i gained a ton of weight (in college) and i was able to drop all of it with a combination of nutrisystem (which is just a low glycemic diet), strength training and about 45min of cardio for like 5 days/week. I know my body is changing as I get older, and I feel like I needed a familiar jump start to help me get on the right track. I was actually able to keep the weight off for a long time, but the past few years I just stopped taking care of myself. So i'm going to try this for a few months and see if it helps again. Part of it feels like cheating because I know i should be able to do this without having to resort to a meal plan/subscription, but i only have so much will power and I just need something to give me a helping hand for now. Going to transition from NS into a low glycemic diet after I lose a bit of weight, that way it's easier to maintain without relying on food shipments from them.

@Dr Gunnie congrats on being below 300! amazing job.

@chasingthtdream08 that sounds like so much fun! i'm going to see if i can find an airobics class now. reminds me of that episode of Community with the trampoline.

 

[Flossbolna]

Remember my little pity party this morning? Well, it seems that there is a reason: Had a doctor's appointment today and we went over my recent blood work. Turns out that I am overall really healthy - with the exception of my thyroid which is acting up again. So he has me increase my dose. That might explain why I had struggled with losing weight for the last two months. And why I was so low on energy. So, hopefully I will see some effects of the higher dose soon!!

 

[flvy]

Right?? I hated running basically my whole life and then just recently realized that I love it. And I can run 3 miles or 7 miles and love it all the same!

As for core work, I do planks as well. I also have hand weights and resistance bands at home. So I do side bends where you bend at the waist from side to side. Then I do this core stabilization where I hold a dumbell and rotate from side to side. Then I do bow extensions where I lift the dumbell over my head and then crunch in with my knee. I also do crunches, reverse crunches, etc. If you have a pinterest account then you can search on there for some awesome, at home core workouts. Both standing and laying down. That's what I did and found a few different choices!

Thank you! I have resistance bands that I use for stretching. I'll have to take to pinterest/youtube and do some research.

Yesterday I ordered Nutrisystem. about 9-10 years ago i gained a ton of weight (in college) and i was able to drop all of it with a combination of nutrisystem (which is just a low glycemic diet), strength training and about 45min of cardio for like 5 days/week. I know my body is changing as I get older, and I feel like I needed a familiar jump start to help me get on the right track. I was actually able to keep the weight off for a long time, but the past few years I just stopped taking care of myself. So i'm going to try this for a few months and see if it helps again. Part of it feels like cheating because I know i should be able to do this without having to resort to a meal plan/subscription, but i only have so much will power and I just need something to give me a helping hand for now. Going to transition from NS into a low glycemic diet after I lose a bit of weight, that way it's easier to maintain without relying on food shipments from them.

100% NOT cheating. Just make sure that you're supplementing extra protein/carbs where you need to before/after longer runs.

 

[pinklmaonade]

100% NOT cheating. Just make sure that you're supplementing extra protein/carbs where you need to before/after longer runs.

Definitely. I actually think the nutrisystem will help me in that area because it has all the pre-set breakfasts (and i never usually eat breakfast because im the worst) so i won't feel such a huge deficit when I run like i do now. but i will also make sure I'm supplementing - definitely don't want to wear my body out.

 

[flvy]

Definitely. I actually think the nutrisystem will help me in that area because it has all the pre-set breakfasts (and i never usually eat breakfast because im the worst) so i won't feel such a huge deficit when I run like i do now. but i will also make sure I'm supplementing - definitely don't want to wear my body out.

I kicked my own butt today on my long run. Not the best feeling. Though this made me look at the GI index and now I want some steel cut oats with some fruit.

 

[4Mickeys]

I am coming out of a very sedentary lifestyle so I am trying to build up a routine that I am actually able to keep up and build upon next month

I completely understand as this is me.

What exercises do you do to help shed those pounds quicker?
How many minutes per day do you try to work out?

This Weeks' Challenge: Try one new exercise option this week and see how it feels.

I still really working on this whole increasing exercise in my life. This week is a struggle as I have picked up a virus of some kind and not feeling all that great at the moment.

I bought a kettlebell last week with the idea of incorporating that I have done it once and a few days walking last week. But man those muscles I haven't used in so long really felt it and that was a 5 minute beginner workout from youtube . So I would like to gradually do more of the kettlebell.

 

[JacknSally]

Ok, so, we all know that weight loss is just as much a mental endeavor as it is a physical and emotional one. I read something tonight, and one part really stood out to me - instead of giving food "morals" and thinking of it as "good food" and "bad food", think of it as "sometimes food" and "always food". There is nothing wrong with having a cookie or a cupcake or a soda every now and then... The problem comes when you have them ALLLLLLL the time. But we get so caught up on cold-turkey cutting out the "bad foods" that we feel like we have to deprive ourselves... and how many of us ending up binging after that? I'm going to try hard to think of foods in terms of "sometimes" and "always" from now on, rather than "good" and "bad".