CC St Patrick's Day Challenge
 

Good Day. Hope everyone had a great Valentines Day.

We are starting a new challenge and hope lots of you join in and make some great progress.

Determine a goal that will be doable no matter what it is: Weight Loss, Inches Loss, Workout, Eating Healthier, Wardrobe Changes or Maintenance. This is a journey we decide to take together. Depending on where you live you may be getting close to the time to peeling off layers or you could be a couple months away. Whatever it is let's have a goal and a plan then determine to do your best. Do your best and forget the rest.

So let's all feel good about where we are on the way to where we are going!!

I'm in!

My goals are to work out 3-4 times per week and lose 4-5 lbs to get below 195. We'll see. I just got to 199 and we only have 4 weeks. I will also settle for more lost inches and fitting into more size 14 clothing.

St. Patty's Day here we come!:goldpot:

IM IN OFCOURSE!!

SO, i've been eating all week (i think i'm starting to figure out a pattern....).

bounced up to 175 this morning- but i don't think i've eaten enough to be at 175, so, my goal is 162-165 for st patricks day!!!!!

also hopefully it warms up a little more so i can start running again!!

Yay! I always love starting a new challenge!

My goals:
Lose 3.5 lbs (from 151.5 to 148)
Exercise 6 days each week
Also, I really need to get rid of this darn cough I’ve had since the beginning of January :(

Welcome to everyone new and welcome back to the regulars! Let’s make this challenge a great one!!

I'm in as well :D
My goals:
-Make it to 147
-Keep up on the running. I'd like to run 4 miles at a time. I'm up to about 3.5 at speed and a quarter mile beyond at a slower speed.

I'm in!

No messing around, I will be on here posting and supporting all of you!

I missed my last challenge goal by 2lbs, and i did make it through the challenge but not at the last weigh in day. So....

I had my cheat day and today i'm holding on to a couple lbs of water weight, but I will count today's weigh in and I want to lose 7 lbs for this challenge. That will be 125 lbs, and keep up with working out and sticking to low sugar and no processed meals and CCing.

Doing this for my Wedding, 6.5 months to go! On a positive note even though the scale hates me, my inches are still down and it showed when I went to go pick up my wedding dress today! I went down a size and order a smaller size, and it was a lil big on me! I had extra room, I thought about ordering the next size down but my rib cage isn't going to change that much and it's easier to take in than out. So that is progress, down almost 2 dress sizes for my wedding dress and it fits amazing!

good luck ladies, we can do this! :carrot:

I'm in :) I want to have lost 15 lb by St. Patty's Day and have worked out 3 times a week. So excited about this challange :)

I'm in!
 

Been a long time since I've participated in a challenge.

I want to be down 10 pounds and get up to being able to do 5 sets of Holy Cow Planks three times a week.

2/16 ~ 174.2

I'm in

My goal is to workout three times a week and get at least 6000 steps on the fit bit everyday. No matter what. I can do it.

hey chickies- check in time.

SO, this week has been a bit rough, i went out for sushi with candidate 2, and then had about half a bottle of wine, still weighed in lower today then i did yesterday, but still at 174.4. i'll take it. yesterday was also a off-yoga day AND I GOT TO CUDDLE WITH THE WORLDS CUTEST POINTER EVER. she is like, cat-dog. it's amazing.

anyways, en route to work this morning i had a pretty bad wipe out, and by the time i got to work i looked at my elbow and it's all bloody. it's a pretty deep gash and i feel like i might have done some damage. smacked a bandaid on it. i hope the pain calms down and i can still do yoga tonight!!

tomorrow is also a HUGE yoga day. begginers series+ advanced series. back to back.

this means that tonight i will be making protein balls, and electro-shooters (basically water and electrolyte solution, kind of gets like a jello feel, so think like jello shots but with electrolytes). the bigginer series is 90 minutes, the advanced is 2 hours- but it might take us upwards of 3-4 to get through it as this will be the first time trying it at my particular studio. SO EXCITED (please please please arm don't stop me).

nsv? i bought a pair of lucky brand jeans in a size 6 over christmas (their sizing is weird, they are a 28). they are getting loose!! woohoo

Hi all, checking in. A little bloated today. I was having horrible carb cravings for 2 days so I gave in and ate at maintenance levels but allowed more carbs than usual, hence the bloat. My cravings are gone now and I am ready to get back to my regular diet.

Today is my first day using a Fitbit. Should be interesting to see what my normal day looks like calorie-wise. It tracks cals burned for different activities, counts steps and stairs, food intake, sleep, and probably more that I have yet to discover. Seems like a cool gadget. I haven't needed it to lose weight but it might be a cool tool to use.

30 days til St. Patty's Day!

I am in.

Goals:

Get down to 210 lbs
Walk every single day for 1/2 hour
Stick to 1800 calories

I apologize for the length of this post and how it sounds like a Debbie Downer, but I need to be part of this challenge for a specific reason, and I don't feel strong enough to set a weight loss goal for myself, but rather, a behavior goal.

I reached 167.5 by Feb 2nd, and was ecstatic. My goal was a meager 169 and to get back to eating to lose (after the holidays). I was over/past the Thanksgiving/Xmas/New Years sabbatical that I had taken wherein I was hovering between 172/170 and had in earnest returned to a mode of eating to lose. I can't say my exercise component was ever stellar b/c it was not. I was trying during the summer/fall/early winter with making myself take walks. I don't think the exercise component is ever really going to kick in, but I can pretend that come spring it will again--and I can say with certainty that I at least will try. That written......I changed my ticker back to 170 b/c I'm hovering around it. 169.5/170/170.5

I am joining this challenge with maintenance goals.

1. Not gain.
2. End the challenge weighing not more than 170.
3. Ensure that my husband does not bring imported cheeses into the house.
4. Ensure that my husband does not bring imported cheese/pepperoni trays into the house.
5. If I cannot stop 3 and 4, I will have to waste the money spent (which will bother me very much b/c $ is tight) and take those food items into the yard and toss them with dirt and throw them into the garbage.
6. Mindfully eat, again, in a way that returns to the healthful choices I had been making before the winter holidays threw me off my game, and before I succumbed to snacking on available/plentiful imported cheese and crackers.

Do you feel my theme?

I do best avoiding items that I can't handle. I have not made potato or macaroni salad for a year (to my family's dismay) but I know that I can't make individual servings of it...and I can't handle having it around, so I don't make it. I can't handle eating 1 Almond Joy, so I don't allow it in my house. Not that I crave Almond Joy, I just know that I'll want more...so I don't even start. I had no idea that I could not handle the cheese and crackers until it was here and I caved in. The problem with this is that it is so calorie dense that even when I eat what I would consider a "normal" portion (8 triscuits with 6 slices of cheese and 2 pepperoni) I've pretty much over eaten calories, but it isn't filling or satisfying. It is a SNACK, with ridiculous calorie content. There is no way that this portion of food could be considered a meal to me, so it becomes extra in addition to my day's calories. I was able, when craving a corn muffin from a specific diner here with butter (500 calories) to have it a couple nights for dinner, instead of a healthy balanced meal. I willingly made that trade. Of course, I know I can have something healthy and bulky for the same amount of calories, but I was willing to make the exchange for the corn muffin---not so for the cheese/crackers.

So these are my goals. To continue to make good choices, better choices. To not gain. Maintenance is ok. 170 is better than 200. My goal is only 10 more pounds....but I don't want to get too far away from that goal in the opposite direction before I get back to losing.

Am I even making sense?

Hi all. Checking in. :)

Yesterday was my first day using my Fitbit. I am liking it more than I thought. It's pretty neat to see all your stats including sleep duration and quality.

Oh wow. We tried this little pizzaria here last night b/c I had been craving veggie pizza and it was so awesome. Get a load of this: broccoli, fresh tomatoes, spinach, mushrooms, onions, and black olives. I also had them add some pepperoni. Best Pizza Ever! The crust was fresh, not too much bread, and the cheese was perfect, not too much or too little.. A new favorite for me! I ordered it in a 10 inch mini size which is enough for 2 people so I even have leftovers but not too much laying around. Oh so good in so many ways and I did fine on cals.

The bloat from yesterday is fading away although I am still up on the scale. I haven't taken in enough to gain so I'll just stick to it until I get that whoosh...;)

my scale is heading north instead of south.

it's 9 am and i've already had 800 calories.

im having issues with getting back on the pony. will write more details later, but this kind of feels like coming clean about it.

So I lost 12.6 pounds this week!! I am so excited!! I think it's because I had alot of soda's the week before and had completely cut them out this past week is how i had such a huge loss :) I hate getting sucked back into drinking soda's. I'm going to try really heart not to again. So I'm close to hitting my challenge goal for the weight I want to lose :) But I still need to work on m work out goal for the challenge :)

4 star-
I am really enjoying my fitbit too

sobananas, yay for you!! Congrats on the big loss.

Originally Posted by 124chicksinger:
sobananas, yay for you!! Congrats on the big loss.

thanks! it's definatly a confidence boost in what I'm doing :) Did you have a good week?

@sobananas....yes, actually having a few "good" days in a row. Thank you for asking. I challenged myself to stay the course...and I'm succeeding there.

Awesome! Just keep taking one day @ a time! Oh & I changed my handle lol just to let y'all know :)

Christyk28- :congrat: on the loss! Woohoo!

too big- I am really liking my Fitbit and so is my dh. It's a cool little gadget. I actually get a little more exercise being conscious of my calorie burn. I have also been feeling really snacky this weekend and eating more than I would think I should (around 1900) but the fitbit says that I will still hit my goal weight on time set for "kinda hard" loss. If not, I will set my calories for "hard" and go lower. I love how it starts your day around 1200 and then allows more calories for activity. If I can eat at this rate and lose weight just by staying fairly active, that would be awesome!

okay chickies. im back.
my head is back in the game.

so, yesterday was a little cleaner- despite the 900 cal breakfast, and the many (many) choco-covered strawberries. i hit maybe 1800 cals last night.

yesterdays weigh in was 176.4, today was 175.4, hello losing water weight.

today- 2 pm and pretty clean so far. about 700 calories deep, have a dinner planned- ITS DEFFINATELY GOING TO INVOLVE roasted sweet potatos and either 4 oz of basa fillet, or about a 4 oz lean beef steak - it's going to be a post-yoga toss up.

and then my snack will be either 300 gm of melon, or half of a papaya , nom nom. clean clean clean.

so, baby steps: my goal from now, until bed time- is to 1. clean something in my apartment. 2. stay under 1650 cals. edit: banked in around 1620. WOOHOOOl

my goal until wednesday: to white knuckle it and avoid sugar. (this is my issue). edit: had 1 choco covered strawberry at the studio, then about 80 cals of fat free cool whip. WHATEVER. (better then the last couple of days)

thursday, i go home to visit my momma bear, i will be eating off plan - she likes to cook with beautiful things like 14% fat sour cream (21% if she can find it???). Unfortunately, i absolutely cannot resist this stuff, because well....nothing beats your mothers cooking right. irony? my mother is 5'6 and under 120 lbs. JELOUS.

SO the plan for this weekend will be white knuckle portion control.

dear pony: play nice, and i will feed you carrots.

what else did i learn? i am not ready to start re-introducing new recipes yet- i get the desire to eat the whole batch. UGH.

Hi all! Just checking in. Doing fine here. Learning all of the ins and outs of my handy little Fitbit. Turns out I was doing good on my cals on my own but it sure is handy to reaffirm I am on track and to have a device that tracks my activity so I don't have to worry about it. Weigh in for me is on Saturdays so I am looking forward to the weekend to see how things pan out.

Hope you're all doing well!

Stimkovs- I don't think the :carrot: knows he's getting fed to the pony yet....:lol:

169 this morning. That's all I have to post.

Hey everyone! My scale hasn’t been budging lately, which is kind of frustrating, but it’s TOM week so I’m not too concerned. Also, I bought some frozen yogurt at the grocery store (which I promised myself I wouldn’t do after the last tub I bought). I’m mildly lactose intolerant, so froyo makes me bloat like crazy. The scale was not happy that first time, so I’m assuming that’s also contributing to the lack of movement. Luckily, my brother came to visit this past weekend and ate a bunch, so it’s almost gone. Yay! In other news, my cough is still sticking around. I think it might be getting a little better though. I hope. And I’ve been faithfully using the treadmill 6 days a week :) So a pretty good start to the challenge, despite the scale stuff. Hope everyone’s having a great week!

Doing great on my challenge goal of working out and making more steps. Its nice to not be freaking out on the scale. Still weighing every morning but more out of curiosity than anything else. Hope everyone had a good day.

Doing great on my challenge goal of working out and making more steps. Its nice to not be freaking out on the scale. Still weighing every morning but more out of curiosity than anything else. Hope everyone had a good day.

Hi all! It looks like every one has some nice goals and is working towards them!
I've been out of it for the last week, I came down with a horrible chest cold/flu. Monday and Today I've started feeling better and did a little exercise.
Tomorrow I may go for a run, I'm not sure though, we'll see how I feel.

Anyhow, have a great night! :carrot:

My goal is to lose 6 lbs by Saint Patrick's Day. That would get me down to below 260. Sounds like a reasonable goal, and doable.

tdi......did you "benefit" on the scale from being sick? You know that old line "I'm one stomach flu from my ideal weight" LOL

Stay the course people...stay the course. Success to all.

4star im not sure if the carrot knows, but SURPRISEEE??


As an update- pony is cooperating. FINALLY while knuckled it through yesterday. 1400 cals, no sugar (outside of fruit) healthy dinner, healthy snacks etc etc.

back down to 174.6- I will take it.

What did i learn? For a while, I tried to replace my afternoon coffee (16oz 2 splenda, 2 milk banks in at about 70 cals). With 70 cals of pb2/celery. Less hunger from the coffee. I guess that means "don't mess with a good thing"

i've also replaced my morning 150cals oatmeal/ 20-30 blueberries/assorted fruit bits for a egg beater omelet (30 cal+ light laughing cow+ 2 tbsp salsa) and it's been working. THIS ALSO LETS ME HAVE A BIGGER DINNER!

i think i am moving closer and closer to maintenance, I am trying to really regulate out my eating, and this is what has been causing my hicccups. majority of my loss was "calorie front loading" - 85% of my food was eated before 6 pm.

now, i am eating about 50% of my food before 6 pm. WOOHOO (in the long run, this will allow me to be more social and be able to go out for dinners with friends!!)

Sparklebe- I hope you get fully recovered soon! It's been a while now.

Tdiprincess- I hope you get to feeling better too!


Sactolady- That sounds reasonable to me. Welcome aboard.

too big- Is working with the fitbit helping your progress? I have been bouncing over and under 200 for the last week or so. I hope their calculations are correct b/c I really want to see my 2 lb loss for the week soon. I think it's a cool gadget and all but I am not feeling patient today.

Got a whoosh! Down to 197.6! :carrot: Man, that was a hard fought few pounds! I seem to be having problems with bloating for the last 2 weeks and have been bouncing in and out of Onederland. I am hoping that soon I'll have enough off that when I bloat I will still be <200. I really can't stand seeing that 2 out in front, it's a little demotivating...But there's no turning back so I will press on b/c eventually, even with s-l-o-w progress, I'll get where I need to be. My challenge goal is 195 and it looks like it will truly be a challenge. :ebike:

:luck2you:

4star YAY. you've been fighting tooth and nail for onderland forever, it will stick! loads of time until st.patty's. you can hammer out the 195!!

my update? back down to 173.6, BUT im going home right after work in a few hours, and i KNOW my mother will be feeding me yummy russian stuff. must keep trying to white knuckle. I will NOT be weighing until tuesday. but i can only hope that it will be a weigh in, in the 172's. realistically, it will be back up to 175. ughhh the 170's are a terrible decade.

Staying the course.
Congrats 4star on the loss.

hi everyone! pretty new to this forum, and definitely to this thread.

it's my goal to get to 140 or the lower 140's by st. patrick's day. i hope it's do-able. i'm currently wavering around 145/146. can't wait to reach it and then go ever further for summer!

Hey everyone!
I’ve been doing pretty well this week. TOM’s here and I feel a bit like a chocolate monster, but I’ve been keeping up on the treadmill which I’m happy about. I often take a break during my TOM, but I’ve kept on exercising this time around and I think it makes me feel a bit better. Yay! Here’s hoping I’ll see a nice little whose when TOM leaves :crossed:

Valalltogether: Welcome!
Stimkovs: I hope you have a great weekend with your parents! Homemade food (especially a mom’s) is always so hard to resist. But the pony will still be there with you after the weekend’s over :)
4star: Congrats!!