Well here we are week 2 of the between chat threads. I hope everyone from both teams will come and chat and take advantage of these threads.

For anyone signing up for the new challenge please feel free to come and chat here as well.

Well off to sleep now it's 11:30 and I have to be up at 7. Good night everyone.

P.S. if you didn't see it in the sticky or in the week 1 chat thread Mel has posted the sign up for the Frozen Fiesta Challenge.

Don't forget to sign up for your chance to get on a team.

Remember only people who have been in a previous challenge can pick which team they want to be on.

Thanks for starting the week 2 threads bigmid

Sorry I didn't chat much last week. Had one kid at home tuesday-friday with fever/flu. So my dh & I were doing 1/2 days at work, 1/2 days at home. So far, no one else has got it. I hope it stays that way.
I realized though, when I am at home I am far less disciplined food wise than if I go to work. When I know I'm at work M-F, I pack my lunch and snacks for the day and am pretty good. If I do go buy something it's usually just a coffee. Once in a blue moon I may buy a slice of cake. But at home with the kitchen right there- I probably spent the majority of my time in the kitchen, searching for something to snack on. I think I was able to keep it in check as I was aware of what I was doing and having that constant conversation with my inner deamons! LOL

I don't have the week 1 chat thread open, but I know someone was talking about making excuses for not having time/being too busy to exercise. Sometimes we are our worst enemies. I've found instead of saying, I'm going to X amount of exercise each day, just try to move a bit more than the day before. I just wear my pedometer and hope to hit somewhere near 10,000 steps per day. Some days I do, other days I'm no where near that number. I take the stairs instead of the elevator, I walk back and forth to the photocopier- even if I don't need to, take the dog for a walk- even if I'm tired etc. I know these are things you've heard before, but one day it clicks and it all starts coming together. The main thing is to not stop moving.
Here's to a great week 2 everyone!

Hi just heading to bed, Mel I'm doing the excuse thing for my not working out today....it was another 10hr day at work with no breaks and just a fibre one bar and some mini carrots all day. Came home, ate, then have been relaxing under the covers to stay warm. To tired.
Tomorrow I'm helping out at a different store so maybe even though I'll be busy I'll still be working with other people and get to go home on time....fingers crossed.
You should see the pile of work waiting for me on Wed at my store though...lol

Mel glad no one else had gotten the flu hope you continue to stay healthy. Way to go o. Getting your steps on though.

CanadaMel - Guilty as charged. I guess I'm being a baby, I just want more time at home to use my home gym (I have a dandy) and it just isn't working out for me.

Last summer I coordinated a "take the stairs" challenge and I kind of burned myself out on the stairwells but your note pushed me out of my chair and I took a quick walk down to the 1st floor and back to the 4th. Got my heart rate up for a moment and hopefully I can get back into the swing of taking them 2-3 times a day again like I was.

Thanks for the reality check, you said nothing that I didn’t already know but I guess I must have needed to hear it from someone else. (But I still want to figure out how to fit more weight training into my routine when my life dictates that I’m away from the house 12-14 hours a day. I’m actually starting to think that maybe if I do upper body on Saturday and lower body on Sunday maybe I will just have to accept that as all I can fit in, add that to the stairwells and I may actually end up with a workout routine. Hmmm, thx for letting me brainstorm. )

Hey, everyone! I have joined a couple of these challenges in the past, but I have never made it to the end. I am going to give it one more try because I have gotten a lot out of the challenges in the past (while I lasted).

My problem is I cannot go more than a couple months before I put myself on the back burner and start taking care of everyone else again. I am determined to not do that this time around, and my lifestyle is very different now than it was last time I tried...so hopefully I can keep myself at the top of the list this time around. I know that it starts subtle, like skipping one workout because a child is crying or my husband is giving me attitude about not cuddling with him...once I let the needs of others intrude one time it goes downhill. This time I have to be aware of that and not allow that first slip to happen. My health is just as important as everyone else's demand of me!

EofAZ: Starting with my Thursday shifts I am going to be walking the stairs at work as well. I plan to spend all of my 15 minute breaks going up and down the stairs, and will walk laps around the hallways on my lunch break. I work night shift and I am on break alone...so no excuses! I plan to do this for 10 minutes each break, so it will add up to 20 minutes of stair stepping on my short shift and 30 minutes on my long shift, plus a half hour walk on my long shift. Not bad for being on the clock and getting paid!

Hi, everyone! I cant wait for the challenge to start! My name is Kat and I am a 35 year old nurse who is juggling grad school and work right now. I am on winter break and want to use my days off to build structure in my daily routine and get back into working out. I used to be one of those people who LOVED exercise! Now just walking five minutes on the treadmill feels exhausting. Well, I've gotta start somewhere. Yesterday, I bought some healthy food and proceeded to overeat the healthy food. But today I am determined to follow a different path. I am watching an episode of season 6 to motivate me and then I am going to hop on the treadmill!
For breakfast this morning I had 0.5 cups of unsweetened almond milk, 2 small apples, and 2 tbs of almond butter. It is 380 calories which is a lot for breakfast but I am hoping it will "stay with me" because of the fat and protein. Getting started is always really difficult for me. I have had so many false starts recently but am hoping that by posting here I will stay honest.
Goals for the day: 30 minutes of cardio
ATTEMPT to do the 30 day shred workout (I have become a weakling) lol
Stay under 1800 calories
Drink 6 bottles of water

Everyone has gotta start somewhere!


Unfortunately, I work long 13 hour days (and sometimes they turn into 14 hour days) and I work 6 out of the next 8 days. When you factor in commute time, sleep time, and getting ready for bed/work time there is really not much time for a workout in there so my focus after today is mainly going to be on drinking my water and staying below 1800 calories. However, I will try to get in 4 workouts during that time.

Here goes nothing!

Welcome Kat!
Hope everyone is having a great week. It went by too fast for my liking. I hate the feeling of racing from one holiday to the next. I'd like to savour the days in between, but can't seem to find how to do this.
Eating is staying mostly on track. The 'modtly' is due to eating a few cookies that are perched on my desk due to being the receptionist.
But that's why I'm out walking the dog at a faster pace than usual for a little more burn.
Have a great evening all!

Hi everyone hope all is well. Sorry I've been MIA but work has been insane still and will be until Christmas.....ahhhhhh retail.

Anyway something amazing has happened....I'm actually dropping a few pounds...and its December. That never happens :-)

Won't put my weight down in case it goes bad for tomorrow's WI.....girls night out tonight. I did get in a 1hr workout this morning though so that should help.

Welcome to the challenge thread Kat, it's a great group of people on both teams so were here for you as we're all here for the same common goal:-)

Welcome back purplefirefly - stay strong you do deserve to put you needs up front. The healthier and happier you are the better it is for the whole family.

Happy Sunday Everyone !

Got back from Vegas late late Thursday night. Had a great time.... saw my husband for the first time in 3 months, did the 1/2 marathon, went to a show, went to an aquarium, walked a ton, ate way too much and had a great time.

My body has a way of hanging onto water... I was up 22 lbs. in a week and a half... yes 22 lbs ! Since then I've dropped 10 of it and expect the other 10 should drop by the end next week.

Unfortunately late last night I started coming down with some sort of flu/cold and now I feel pretty rotten. I'll stay home today and rest... hopefully it won't be too bad and go away quickly.

Hope everyone has a great week !

PS - Jacky did you do the marathon with us?