[Dottington]

I'm sticking to my 5:2 plan for this challenge Since I'm back to school next week(ahhhh!) I will have less time to exercise although I am taking a fitness class that is 2 hours a week. So at least I'll have something If my weight loss plateaus I might try throwing in a half fast day on Fridays.

I'm not sure what I'm doing for Halloween yet. Last year I had a party. I'll see if any parties come up, or maybe just go out to the bars. Or maybe my fiance will throw a party, not sure. But I do have some ideas for costumes There are a couple french maid costumes I'm thinking of as well as a circus costume. Also I found a sexy Pierrot costume and that would be so funny since one of my favorite pieces of music is Pierrot Lunaire. All my classical music buddies would die if I was Pierrot for Halloween! lol

[LiannaKole]

I don't have a costume yet. I usually slack on that. I have been known to just toss on a witch's hat and hand out candy to kiddos in my building (or go to a low-key party).

As for my plan, it's what's always worked for me (and what I have been failing to stick to for way too long now) - mostly watching portions, and also some exercise.

Sadly, I slipped and popped something out of whack in my back, so I have to delay my C25K program I'm doing. That'll set me back...again. But I'll just pick it up again when I can. I also want to add in more strength training. I just haven't found a program yet that I don't get bored with or hate.

I have a lofty goal of about 1.6 lbs a week. I know I can do that no problem if I stick to my plan 98% of the time. If.

[Riestrella]

Nice to see lots of you chattering away!

As for me, no Halloween costumes yet, I haven't been invited to a party so it might not even happen. But it's still August so it's still early days I suppose. I would love to dress up as Elizabeth from Bioshock Infinite:

I love a good corset, I have a pretty good body shape for it! I unfortunately don't have the money to do this outfit though, so I might have to just paint my face something crazy.

For my plan to lose weight I want to:
- Work out at least 4 times a week
- Stay within my 1400 calorie range
- Eat healthier, avoid junk food snacking at all costs
- Drink water consistently every day

Totally do-able, I shouldn't be making any excuses!!

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Hoopty - Yes I am! Well remembered. I have a 10K to do next month but in general I like to follow the training pattern in the summer months since I enjoy following a structure. It feels like I'm getting somewhere rather than just winging how far I run! But now that summer is over in England I'm going to do Focus T25 and if the weather is nice I'll go out on a run. Whew, you're a machine when it comes to exercise! Good luck staying on plan, you have a lot coming up so try your best to stay on plan but don't put too much pressure on yourself either. What will you be studying at Uni?

tinneranne - I have to think to myself "don't dwell on the past" a lot or else I get really harsh on myself for the regain that has occurred in the last couple of years. Snacking is my worse habit too, if it's there then I just wanna eat it! How long have you lived in China? Are you at a new school?

noname - You did amazing in the last challenge, I think you can dominate this one too! That's an amazing goal to get too, there's nothing like getting out of the obese category. I know what you mean, I think it's a good idea to dress up as the opposite sex. That way you can only make it look sexy with your body! Would love to be Jareth the Goblin King one day hehe.

underanalysis - You are so close, good luck! Your costume theme sounds interesting.

Dott - Your costume ideas sound great, I'm a fan of dressing up as a composer! Who does that?! It'd be awesome!

Lianna - Are you talking about strength training when you say you can't find something exciting?

[kisskiss]

underanalysis:
congrats on being so close to your goal! that's awesome and a 1950s Batman characters sounds pretty cool too

Dottington:
I didn't know you were engaged! Congrats!! I've seen some great circus costumes online, but the Pierrot costume (i have no idea how you would do that) sounds like it would go over well with your friends

LiannaKole:
ouch, I hope you get better soon! I've had back issues flare up occasionally, so I feel your pain. Do you know when you'll be better? I think 1.6 lbs a week is doable

Riestrella:

you still have plenty of time to decide on halloween plans any costume that includes a corset sounds cute.

I think we are going to Vegas this year for Halloween, and the boyfriend really wants me to dress up as lara croft/tomb raider. We'll see if I feel comfortable/confident with that. If not, I've seen some awesome catwoman costumes that look cool.

quick question, I put down "139" in the spreadsheet as a guess, but to be honest I"m not sure. I don't have a scale and I'm still in Costa Rica for another week and a half. can I just leave a "-" (dash) or should I just leave the 139? I will know my weight by next week when I'm back home where I am weight wise...

[LiannaKole]

Riestrella: Yep, I meant strength training. Overall, I am not someone who enjoys exercise. So anything I do has to be at least a little engaging for me. I have not found that with weight training yet, sadly.

And your costume idea is so cute! I don't really know Bioshock (it's a game, right? I think my friend plays it), but it's a great costume idea.


kisskiss: Thanks! Yeah, I normally don't have back issues (generally it's neck issues that crop up. I should be better in a week or so, if I don't aggravate it (but my job can get pretty physical). Fingers crossed! And yeah, I hope 1.6 lbs is doable.

[alyrh]

I'm thinking Carmen San Diego. I always loved her!

I've been trying more and more to read labels. I like to see whats actually going into my body and what its going to be doing. My biggest challenge is getting enough protein since I don't eat meat.
I'm so psyched for this challenge I've got my game face on for real!

[LiannaKole]

alyrh: I loved Carmen San Diego when I was a kid! And I still think she's awesome!

And far as protein, I barely eat any meat. It's safe to say it's definitely not my main source of protein. I don't know if you want ideas or not, but I tend to love nuts, seeds, beans and legumes, tofu, tempeh, veggies (1 cup raw broccoli has 3 grams of protein), and cereals. If you eat eggs and dairy, you can get protein from those too. Even 2 tbsp of peanut butter on a slice of whole wheat toast can have more than 10 grams of protein. And I think people only need like .8 g of protein per kg of body weight.

[Riestrella]

So I have a bit of a weird goal in my life right now...I really want to learn a cool dance routine! I don't necessarily want to attend classes just yet, but would be interested to in the future. But for now I'm just learning a dance routine of a song I really like. I did about a 30-40 minute session today, boy did I get out of breath and my legs are hurting now! I played the video super slow to get the basic moves down then started to speed it up when I felt confident. I recorded myself doing it so I can review what I look like since I don't have a full length mirror - I hope someday I can make a little compilation if I end up getting good! Like a "here's how it started" thing. Anyway, it was a lot of fun and it was engaging and it was like a mini workout in itself. Here's the video if anyone is interested: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p3ltBZ3gKvk

kisskiss - Yeah, did I ever tell you I managed to wear a corset UPSIDE DOWN one year? So embarrassing. For me anyway, no one else cared. I dressed up as Katy Perry in the E.T. video (the gold alien version of herself) and I covered an old corset in gold material. Anyway, I wasn't thinking and put it on upside down without realising! It was all bunched at the bottom and my boobs leaked out at the top! I only realised halfway into the night and everyone was already wasted so by the time I fixed it no one really cared. I was like "no, look at me now! it's so much better!"
I dressed up as Lara Croft a loooong time ago, when I was 14. I went to a family party, all my relatives were really creepy and kept saying how my boobs are coming in -_-. Definitely something I'd like to do again now I've "blossomed"! You can keep 139 if you want and change it when you know for sure. Putting a dash in there screws up the fancy formulas, so it's all about the right click - insert comment trick. Either way is fine.

Lianna - The Elizabeth costume is a pipe dream, I doubt I'll have a job in time to afford to make it! I'll put it on my list of video game characters I want to dress up like. Yeah, she's from an awesome video game, so good! Have you tried circuit training? Something like Insanity or his new Focus T25? It's not entirely strength in a let's pump some iron way but it still includes strength moves.

[LiannaKole]

Had a slight drop in weight, which is nice. Hopefully it continues for the weigh in next week!

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Riestrella: Learning a dance sounds fun! I've taught myself a dance from a video before, and it was very enjoyable! Great workout idea.

I have tried a couple circuit training programs. None of them worked for me, really. Although I think it might have been the individual programs and not circuit training in general. I'll have to try Focus T25 as soon as my back is better.

[Riestrella]

Lianna - What dance did you learn? I'm glad I'm not the only one! What happened to your back?

[alyrh]

LiannaKole: I eat a lot of Greek yogurt for my protein. I'm so picky as far as food goes. My body is also super sensitive to a lot of weird things but peanut butter on a waffle seems to be my favorite breakfast in a hurry. My diet, as it is, is a disaster. There is not much I will actually consume lol. Imagine the pickiest child and then triple their pickiness.

[hrr6030]

I signed up! I needed a short term goal, and this is perfect! If I stick to my plan, I should be at my goal or below. Thank you for this challenge!!

[LiannaKole]

Riestrella - I've actually done a few dances (mostly with friends). Also, there are some dance instruction videos from So You Think You Can Dance, where they have different levels of difficulty for different dances. They come out with new ones every year on National Dance Day (July 24). Those can be fun!

Oh, and I did something wonky to my back when I slipped and caught myself weird. Never done that before.

alyrh: That makes things harder, I bet. I'm actually the exact opposite - I'll eat almost anything.

hrr6030: Welcome to the Halloween thread!

[thewalrus0]

Hi all, I am a bit late but school started this week and I am working full time so things are about to be insane for, oh, three or four months.

It has also been TOM. As excited as I was hoping to have a start weight of 195 it just isn't going to happen.

I still think I can reach my 185lb goal by Halloween though. TOM happens and usually the scale sticks for a week and then drops dramatically, so I am looking forward to that.

[LiannaKole]

You know what I hate? All those recipes and recipe books that promise only 30 minutes or 15 minutes or 20 minutes or whatever time needed to make the food. It's a big fat lie. What really bugs me is...

1. They NEVER include prep or cleanup time. This is the least fun and most time-sucking part of cooking. It's the hassle. Not the actual cooking. So 15 minutes turns into 1.5 hours. That's way more time out of your day and not suitable for a weekday meal.

2. It always takes longer to cook than they say. Probably because I am not a chef. My knives are barely sharp and it takes me a bit to get things done. The recipes aren't designed for the actual average cook. The people I know do not have awesome knives and amazing knife skills. Or even mediocre knives or skills. That, to me, is average.

3. All the equipment and ingredients that are costly and/or not easily obtained. Fresh coriander leaves may be the most amazing thing in the world, but I could not buy them where I live. And bamboo steamers are lovely, but I won't use it for anything but one or two recipes, and so it is merely clutter and expense.

Just be honest, food authors. I'd rather have the truth.

End rant.
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thewalrus0: Welcome to the thread!