Simba's Summer (July) 2015 W.I.S.H. Weight Loss Challenge!! Any and All welcome to join!!

[Zim]

I' not very fond of the heat either, and I love the snow so I can gripe! We live just north of DC so it's a little more manageable. But I always try to get out first thing in the morning or about an hour before sunset to go around the lake (like last night!) If I can't make it at those times, I'll do something indoors like zumba or the treadmill. But you will never see me walking around the lake at high noon - I see other people do that and I think they're nuts!

As for goals, aside from the weight loss my two big goals are to drink more water and less Diet Coke and to avoid the free m&m dispenser at work. So far so good, I'm into Day 2 of not putting my hand under the auto-dispenser! I think I'll lose half my goal if I just stop with the m&ms!!

Have a great Fourth of July weekend everyone and safe travels for those heading somewhere fun.

 

[Connie96]

I hate heat, lol! And after moving from NY back down to central Texas, I'm definitely having to adjust! Thankfully it's cooler than average so far this summer. I'll take what I can get!

Howdy neighbor! I'm in central Texas too! Just west of Waco. The rain this year has been NUTS! Seems to me that the rain kept the temps low during the late Spring when it begins to warm up so, once it stopped raining, it just jumped from 75 to 95 with no transition. I'm a summer person. I much prefer the heat to the cold and it was still a pretty rude awakening to a full-blown Texas summer. I guess we should just be grateful that it hasn't hit 100 yet.

 

[Candy1971]

I'm in! My goal for this month is to lose 5 pounds. That's my biggest goal. I also would like to do a cardio workout at least 3 times a week with strength training workouts at least twice a week. I need to learn how to better schedule my evenings because I feel like I never have enough time to workout (but have plenty of time to binge on Netflix).

Do simple cardio moves or use an exerciseball while watching Netflix.

 

[Candy1971]

I LOVE carbs!!! Anyone else! I'm looking for good lean protein, low carbs ideas. Anybody wanna share?

 

[JacknSally]

I LOVE carbs!!! Anyone else! I'm looking for good lean protein, low carbs ideas. Anybody wanna share?

I, too, am a big fan of carbs. We've cut way down on our carbs by making a conscious effort not to consume as many. Usually have a protein shake in the morning (with carb friendly yogurt, protein powder, and milk), lunch is either deli turkey, grilled chicken, or tuna, and grilled chicken (with various marinades) or turkey burgers for dinner. Snacks are usually hardboiled eggs, scrambled eggs, or pre-made protein shakes.

How do I beat the heat? I avoid it. Haha, I HATE heat. Money's really tight right now so we aren't running the A/C in our house, but we have several fans set up all around. I also drink a lot of water during the day. If I walk outside it's either in the morning or right before sunset, but usually I walk on the treadmill. Memphis is 90 and muggy today!

 

[Kriii]

I'll jump in! My goals are to drink half of my body weight in ounces each day, get sufficient rest, stick to my exercise regime while on vacation and avoid the foods I am not supposed to eat.

 

[Zoesmama03]

June did not go as planned I didn't lose, I was still up a few. It feels like I wasted the whole month. It seemed to speed right by. I can't even believe its July. I'm ready for the end of September because I want the temps to start dropping. Sick of these 100s already. I really need to move from Arizona. I just hate it here. I'd rather have cold.

I'm going this morning to attempt to join Planet Fitness for real, I keep putting it off. I have a pay card where my checks are deposited. I keep holding off if I want to do the $10/month plan and not have a commitment term or do the nothing down $19.99 a month plan but have a 12 month commitment. I want to keep it up the 12 months, my issue is my hours keep dropping at work. I can get more but that often ends up meaning I am at the call of the on call and come and go all day. My friend decided to back out on moving out of state and to the 45-60 minute away town. She's 20-30 still and I am hoping she will join the gym with me still. We can alternate meeting at the ones closer to our perspective homes. I just need to get active again. I'd like to lose 8 lbs this month.





Well I guess I will try the YMCA instead, almost everything I read says they don't allow debit/credit cards they want EFT through bank so people can't cancel or get out of the payment since they want the 12 month commitment or to buy out at $58 which isn't horribly bad but I've also read horror stories of it taking MONTHS to get is stopped. I should get a great discount based on my income. It won't make me be in a commitment at one gym and my daughter might be able to workout with my supervision and its something she is really wanting to do. I may join the closer gym later it will cost a bit more up front and another $10 a month but at the end of July she is eligible to join that one so when I'm ready(with a FT income over my PT) I can join us both at that one at a later time. So I'll go by there tomorrow if they have people there. It may take a bit longer to get set up though as I believe I'll have to wait on a scholarship process to get a discounted membership.

 

[Flossbolna]

I love reading all your heat fighting strategies!! Unfortunately I have been so busy the last two days that there was no time for replies and today I am running around all day as well and then have a work summer party in the evening... Tomorrow I will update the list of participants and reply to your posts!! I promise!

But at least I am going to leave you with a

QOTD for Friday:

With the 4th of July coming up it might be time to ponder on holiday strategies! How do you approach the holiday from an eating perspective? Are you just going to splurge since it is only one day, are you trying to stay on plan and avoid all holiday food or do you have a plan on how to make holiday food less "dangerous"??

 

[Beamo2014]

Hi there,

I'm new here and a little late because the family and I just got back from vacation. I had checked out the June thread and thought it seemed like a really great way to get myself moving towards getting more in shape. I'm a work from home mom of three, with not much free time or many lady friends so it's really hard to get motivated.

My goals are to lose 8 lbs this month. I've had a fit bit for almost 6 months now and I can easily hit the 10k steps a day but I'd like to make my daily goal 20k. I'm also trying to add a 3 day a week work out and train for my very first run disney 10k in Sept. I really need to stay away from the sugar (which I love) so I will be adding alot more fruits and veggies to my diet and drinking more water.

To answer the previous heat question, I'm in CA in an area where the average daily temp will be at least 100 for the next 2-3 months so I will need to work around that by getting out earlier or finding ways to work out inside.

For the holidays, I am hoping to just cut my portions by 1/3 to 1/2 of what I would normally eat, so I can still try a little of everything but not fill up as I usually would.

Really looking forward to this!

 

[SarahDisney]

Just popping in quickly to answer the QOTD:

With the 4th of July coming up it might be time to ponder on holiday strategies! How do you approach the holiday from an eating perspective? Are you just going to splurge since it is only one day, are you trying to stay on plan and avoid all holiday food or do you have a plan on how to make holiday food less "dangerous"??

I don't really do holidays ... so it's just like any other day with a full house: try to keep myself busy and avoid stressful situations that will make me want to eat!

I don't know if I'll have time to pop in again this weekend, so I just wanted to wish all those celebrating a Happy Fourth of July!

 

[JennysSeven]

As far as the 4th, we're just spending it as a family so it will be pretty much business as usual food-wise. I don't eat huge portions anyway so a food plan isn't really an issue, except to try to add in more fruits and veggies. As long as I don't drink my calories (extra coffee and soft drinks) I'm good.

 

[DisPup75]

QOTD for Friday:

With the 4th of July coming up it might be time to ponder on holiday strategies! How do you approach the holiday from an eating perspective? Are you just going to splurge since it is only one day, are you trying to stay on plan and avoid all holiday food or do you have a plan on how to make holiday food less "dangerous"??

The 4th isn't generally too much of an eating disaster for me (actually probably one of my healthier days). We keep it pretty low key since I don't like the heat but do host a big barbecue since we are only a few blocks from the local fireworks and can see them from the backyard. This year we are doing a Mexican inspired menu and will grill steak, chicken, and shrimp for a fajita bar. Sides are a black bean & sweet potato salad, watermelon salad, cucumber salad, salsa, guacamole, and of course tortilla chips. Shoud be OK if I manage my chip consumption.

My plan to make things a little less dangerous (and avoid the margaritas and soda) is that we are going to put out several pitchers filled with "spa" water. I've been drinking cucumber and lemon water all day today and LOVE it. Going to try berry and mint waters tomorrow.

 

[finny1981]

8.33 of my 60 miles are done making me at 13.9% of my goal for this weeks check in.

 

[JennysSeven]

I was reading back through the OP late last night and saw that we were supposed to update yesterday...oops! I guess I was thrown off since we're only a few days into July. Anyway, I weighed this morning and I'm 0.6 lb. down, so I'm at 15% of my 4 lb. goal.

 

[DisPup75]

Happy Fourth of July to those who celebrate!

1/9 upper body workouts done (11%)
.5/4 pounds lost (12.5%)

 

[JacknSally]

Oops, I didn't realize we were supposed to update yesterday either! I guess I'm going to measure my minutes walked for my updates. So between Wednesday and Friday I only got in one 30-minute session. So that puts me at 1% of my goal (90 minutes a week at 4.5 weeks in July = 405 minutes of dedicated walking for the month, of which I walked 30 between Wednesday and Friday!)

 

[Keithsmomma]

Sorry for late update. A lot going on. Just got out of er (thought I was having warning signs of a heart attack). Thankfully not. But they were not sure what was causing my pain.

My step goal of at least 5000 a day I have met each day.
My weight loss goal. I have not lost any, but I have not gained any. To be honest I think I'm losing inches (really I should measure myself and keep track) since my clothes seem lose on me. Hey I'll take it

 

[DisPup75]

Sorry for late update. A lot going on. Just got out of er (thought I was having warning signs of a heart attack). Thankfully not. But they were not sure what was causing my pain.

My step goal of at least 5000 a day I have met each day.
My weight loss goal. I have not lost any, but I have not gained any. To be honest I think I'm losing inches (really I should measure myself and keep track) since my clothes seem lose on me. Hey I'll take it

That sounds pretty scary. I hope everything is OK.

Congrats on the loose clothes. That would make me happy any day!

 

[bethk78]

2nd Pilates workout done (out of 14) puts me at 14%

 

[Flossbolna]

Joining in again for July.

My weight goal is to lose 10lb in July.

My eating goals are to eat within my designated calorie range, focus on whole foods, allow myself one Skinny Cow treat per day (100 calories for the chocolate truffle- yum!), and not binge. I will also continue to journal all my eating and exercise.

My exercise goal is to have a minimum of 45 minutes per day of walking or stationary bike. On days I miss, I will try to double up on a following day.

I'm thinking about getting a fitbit for myself, but not sure if it's worth it. I've lost weight in the past, but had a relapse over the past two years. I thought I'd slayed my dragon, but he came roaring back to life when a lot of life stressors happened all within a few months.

I also plan on reading more weight loss stories. The last I read was It Was Me All Along, and I found I was able to relate to a lot of what the author wrote.

Wishing everyone strength and determination in July!

Welcome! Sounds like a great plan for July!

I know that you already got some feedback regarding the fitbit. I am in the camp of those who love their fitbit. I have the fitbit one as I can wear it where no one sees it. I could not wear it on the arm during work due to my job. I usually wear it on my bra in the front middle part. I did quite a bit research before I got it and knew that it would not be 100% precise. It seems that different people have different experiences with how precise it it. For me, it is ok. I don't mind it tracking steps while I am sleeping. It only thinks I did a step if I am moving around. So my conclusion is that if I am moving around in my bed while I sleep that is activity, so let it be counted as a step. The one thing it does for me, is motivate me to keep active. When I got it, I was shocked how little I moved during the weekends sometime. When I have to go to work I usually move around quite a bit, but in the past I could spend a whole Sunday moving from bed to sofa to kitchen and back. This has totally changed now. Sundays know always include at least a nice long walk, if not a run. I also find it motivating to see the steps grow and grow during the day. It is not like eating that once you have eaten too much in one day, you cannot make it better anymore as you cannot "uneat" your food. But if your step count is low, you can still go out for a nice walk in the evening to make up for it.

Well after a rough June I am going to try to get back on this and try a different approach. My goals this month will be to walk (for exercise not daily steps) at least 60 miles in July (June was 51 miles) and to make better food choices. Now obviously the better food choices are not really measurable, but the walking is

Welcome! Great goals!

Hi Dawnlight! Welcome!

I just wanted to share my experience with FitBit - I know everyone's is different, and the majority of people rave about the device, but I was not impressed! I ended up returning it within a week of getting it. I got the FitBit One because it can clip anywhere - I do data entry, so I'm constantly moving my arms/hands at work, typing and flipping papers, so I didn't want one that I had to wear on my wrist because I wanted my step count to be as accurate as possible. Well, I got it and set it up, and wore it on my wrist to bed that night, as it also had the sleep tracker feature. The next morning, it showed I had gone 200 steps already that day, and my sleep tracker said I had gotten 2 hours of sleep. I had been asleep for 6 hours and had gotten up to use the restroom once, and it is NOT 100 steps away from my bed, haha. But I figured it was just a first-time use glitch. Well, I drove to work that morning, and checked it when I got in, and it said that during my 30-minute drive to work, I had walked 350 steps. I had it clipped to my left shoe so it's not even like it was tracking my foot moving between the brake and gas pedals.

I wore it while I walked around on my lunch break, and at the beginning of my 1.5 mile walk, I was allegedly at 5,000 steps. At the end of my 30-minute 1.5 mile walk, I was at 10,500. There was just no way that was accurate, not if all the walking I'd done between 6am and 1pm was only 5,000 steps. But I kept wearing it for the rest of the week just to see what was going on. We went to the mall that weekend and rode the escalator up once and down once. It told me I climbed 7 flights of stairs in addition to all the steps it said I took. That was the last straw for me - if I'm spending that much money on a device to help with my weight loss goals, I want it to read accurately! I also didn't like the website you have to use, and could never get the device to sync with the info on my LoseIt app, even though it said they were synced.

Like I said, I know lots of people love it, so maybe it was just me or my device. Just wanted to throw it out there! Good luck to you on your journey - hopefully July will bring you the results you need to get back on track!

___________________________________________

to everyone and Happy July 1st! I'm excited to see what this month brings.

Sorry that the fitbit did not work out for you. I find it quite accurate. But I also think that one is not supposed to wear the fitbit one on the shoe, but somewhere on your core. That might have been one cause why it showed exaggerated results for you.

I'm here and looking for my moving buddies! Are you here alrushton and Thistlemae???? I don't see you so I'm sending you a lifeline (aka a PM with a link)!

Anyhooooo... here I am, ready for REAL PROGRESS in July! I've been stagnant for far too long! BBL to post a goal and a plan!......................P

Welcome back Pam!!

Thanks for the email invite back. I always start so strong in the beginning of the month. In the month of June I lost 1 lb. Which is better than gaining.
Our garden share started, and I still go to a Farmer's Market on Saturday mornings, because we get such odd things on our garden share, though we get plenty of lettuce.
My dd's started a 21 day, Shakeology, and it came with bowls for portion sizes. It is unbelievable how large of portions I was eating, but the fruit bowls and veggie bowls are left empty at the end of the day, and I am always grateful to eat at least veggies or fruit. I would of always gone for ice cream.

My goal for July is to cut out bread and bad snacking-I hate how I crave both of these items.

Welcome back!! Hopefully you will be able to acchieve your goals!

Portion size is something that can be quite an eye opener. And a lot of it has to do with what you are used to. I have been able to half my usually portion of pasta over the last years, just making it smaller and smaller. Now I can not even imagine eating the same portions as I did 4 years ago! While my veggie portions have increased quite a lot!

My Goals:
1 - Lose 2 lbs (after a rough June, I'm going for a very low goal - I'd rather exceed a low goal than not reach a high one)
2 - Continue running 2-3 times per week

My Plan:
1 - Meal Plan and stick to it! I know that there are some meals I can't plan in advance (because I'm not making them), but for the ones I can ... I need to plan and stick to the plan. One of my goals for today is to go through my meal plan for the rest of the week and fill in all of the holes (there was a lot of "I'll figure it out later" when I made the meal plan on Sunday)
2 - Pick 2-3 days every week when I want to run, and put it on my calendar! Usually I run first thing in the morning, so I like to set out my clothing the night before so that it's easier for me to get out the door.
3 - At least 2 non-running exercises per week - running is pretty much all I've been doing lately, and I know that it's not enough, so I really need to start reintroducing other exercises into my routine.

I'm sure I'll adjust the plan as the month goes on, but I think it's a good start!

Great goals and plan! I like your idea of putting out the running clothes so that they are there in the morning! I need to do that, too!

So - different people definitely have different experiences with Fitbit. I've had the Fitbit One for almost 2 years and I love it. I know it's not always 100% accurate, but it's good at letting me know which days I'm more active and which days I need to make more of an effort - I tend to use my step count as more of a general guide than an exact number.
I really love my Fitbit and do recommend it, but I know that not everyone does, so don't be too surprised if you get one and wind up not liking it as much as you thought you would.

I think you and I have quite the same experience with the fitbit.

Morning all! Happy July!

I am setting two goals for next month:
1) Walk for an average of 10,500 steps per day for a total of, at least, 325,500 steps for the entire month. **I just came back from a follow-up with my podiatrist regarding the plantar fasciitis in my left foot. He suggested that I lay off the walking and switch to stationary bike or something. I don't really want to, though. I'm going to stick with my planned goal for now but, I may drop this one and pick something new depending on how my foot feels.
2) Drink an average of 88 oz of water per day for a total of, at least, 2,728 oz for the entire month.

I also began following the South Beach Diet (Phase 1) on Sunday, June 28. This is not part of my "official" June goals but, I'd like y'all to hold me to staying on the plan for the entire month. If I'm faithful to the plan, my last day on Phase 1 will be Saturday, July 11 and I'll begin Phase 2 that Sunday. Today is my 4th day on the plan and, so far, so good.

Looking forward to some real progress toward better health this month!

Welcome back! Sorry about your feet giving you trouble! Hope you can keep up with your walking goal. I would have a hard time giving up walking as well!

Good luck with your new diet plan! I hope the holiday did not take you too much off track!