Okay, Calorie Counters, it's time for a new challenge!

Congrats to all those who met their goal on the Canada Day challenge.
Officially, that one doesn't end until tomorrow, but since a lot of challengers met their goal early, I thought we'd get this thread going, so folks can sign up.

Here's how it works: Set a goal for yourself. It can be anything you want or need to work on in the next 8+ weeks, between now and Labor Day. Some like to set a goal for pounds/kg they want to lose, some set a goal to stay OP (on plan) with their eating and/or exercise, to fit into a special outfit, cut down on certain food/drink addictions, whatever. It can be anything that keeps you OP and motivated this summer!

Here are my goals for the Labor Day Challenge:

Scale: 191 lbs or lower. I am not setting a bigger number than that, because I just started back weight lifting, and that tends to slow my numbers way down. I like to think it's because I'm getting so "buff", but in reality, it's usually more about bloating up with water weight the next few days after a hard workout. 191 will get me out of the "obese" BMI range, so I'll just be "overweight". I can live with that!

Exercise:
Skating 2-3 nights a week
Lifting 3-4 days a week (Mon/Tues, Thurs/Fri)
Cardio (including skating) 6 days a week, Mon-Sat
- for skating, has to be at least 2 hours to "count"
- for jogging, at least 2 miles
- for intervals, 20 mins
(not including warm-ups on any workout)
Sunday off from workouts

Eating:
Keep it OP! 1600 on Sunday, 1600-1800 Mon-Sat

That is the plan. We'll see if it works! Good luck everyone!

PS: FB and yoyoma, you can just get your fuzzy butts over here on the new thread, and not try to be all exclusive over there on the Canada Day thread. You can report your final results over here, is what I'm trying to say!

Sounds good, Cheryl. Accountability has always served me well.

It's nine calendar weeks to Labor Day so I'll commit to hitting the gym 36 times.

I registered for the Miami Marathon today and will need to log those miles if I'm going to get across the finish line in less than six hours, which is when they close the course.

I imagine if I stick to that plan, the fat loss will follow.

My fuzzy butt has arrived, no elitist here!

My goal this time is to be under 200 pounds by the time Labor Day hits.

I've come pretty far this year, but seeing the '2' in front is oftentimes discouraging. I realize it's all mental, and a silly number - but oh, I want it sooooo badly. After all, my goal weight starts with a '1', that means I'll be edging closer and closer with an end to weight loss (and a beginning to maintenance! WOO!! YEAH!) in sight. That's the overwhelming thing, sometimes it feels like there's no end in sight. I don't get too discouraged or entertain thoughts of quitting, just want that visual encouragement of a '1' really badly.

I'm more than halfway through my numbers goal, but the realization of how far I've come won't really hit until I see 199 on the scale.

I'm 214 today and ever so close to 199.

So, 15 pounds from today I'll reach that benchmark. 15 pounds!

Diva! Great to see you here...I remember you from last year on the CC chat. Good luck with your marathon! I'd imagine the weight would come off, running those training miles.

That's what I'm starting to focus on now, myself, not a marathon, but focusing more on what my fitness goals are. I'm working out, but "why?". What do I want to be able to do, that I can't do now? I know the weight will come off if I'm eating right and exercising, at whatever pace, so I'm now looking forward and trying to make sure my workouts are helping reach some goals that are more specific than "lose the weight", KWIM?

FB! I know you will hit ONEderland very soon! Then you will blast past me and be sitting there at goal, sipping marguaritas, waiting for me to arrive on the slow train, lol.

Now, where is everybody else? Busy, busy, apparently! I'm off in a few minutes to hit the PO and then the rink for a little skate practice...hopefully it won't be packed with a load of daycampers, but other than tomorrow night, it will be my only chance to skate for the rest of this week.

Cheryl,

I GWUM.

*wink*

Why not register for a 5K? 3.1 miles isn't terrible and the euphoria is there. What do you think?

Hi everyone..I havent joined a challenge yet,so Im a virgin with these on the board..Be gentle ..lol..Anyways my challenge is to be down 10 pounds, bringing me to 143

labor day is my one year dieting anniversary!! I would love to be 35 lbs down and at 133 which would be just below my 20% weight loss!!

Im in..I set my july 4th goal for 250...and im at 253. I am setting my goal for labor day at 235. That would be 18lbs from where I am now. My weight loss seems slower right now..I think its due to not getting exercise as reg .
I am getting my minitramp back out and get with it. I sat down and wrote out my goals for the next year..and by labor day next year I should be at goal of 170. Im in no big hurry to lose all the weight. Just want to keep losing and improving my health.
debi

Hey ladies...I'm going to stick with a goal of staying on plan until labor day, with calorie counting and exercise.

I'm actually leaving for Paris to live for a year right around Labor day. I have a ton of things to do between now and then, and I'm worried about the stress of being very busy, combined with the stress of moving to a foreign country for a year, combined with the stress of the week I'll be visiting my hometown and staying with my parents (my mom, specifically, stresses me out)!

I don't want to try to use this stress as a reason to go off plan, especially with the exercise!

Technically, if (when) I stick to it, I should lose 12 lbs in 8 weeks, and it would be great to leave with that goal.

Hi, I am new to this board and this seems like a nice place to land. I am up for a challenge for labor day.

In nine weeks, sounds like a good goal for me is to get down to 160. A pound a week seems reasonable.

Plus I commit to getting 30 seconds faster per mile on my 10k pace. A bit ambitious, but I need a good kick in the pants.

My goal will be to 189 by Labor Day. I know this sounds easy (only three pounds) but I've been stuck at 192 and the scale jumped to 195 today so hopefully I'll meet my goal in three weeks and I will re-evaluate my labor day goal but I need to do SOMETHING to kick start the scale. So I am going to bust my butt.

I changed my mind, I'm going to set it at 185 so it's more of a challenge. I won't beat myself up if I don't make it... but I think 189 is not really enough of a "challenge"

Woohoo, we're getting a lot of challengers!

Diva, I did my first 5K in March, and it was great. Not sure when I'll get to do another fun run, but I'm sure there will be more in my future. One goal I do have (not for this challenge, just in general) is to improve my flexibility, which will translate to being a better skater and maybe less prone to injury. I'm going to order a yoga dvd this month, and try it, because I think it will help me work toward that fitness goal.

Peach! I've missed chatting with you! You look more fuzzy and chicken-shaped than I remember, though...

Everybody else, it's not that I'm not feeling the love, but I've only got another minute here, so I'll just say "welcome, and good luck!" to everybody I missed!

Cheryl,

My hip flexors are getting tight again and I looked into yoga classes and found very few that would work into my schedule. Let me know what you find for a video and I'll copy you.

I wanna be Gumby, dammit!