[Ksquared]

So 13 weeks to Thanksgiving hmmm? Wow.

I am totally failing on the other 10 pounds by the 1st of the month challenges..so maybe a longer term goal is the way to go for me.

I tend to gain in the beginning of the month, bloat in the middle due to tom, then lose it all and a couple extra pounds by the end of the month.

I also started a new job that has me going from on my feet for 6-8 hours a day to on my rear end 8.5 hours a day with a smattering of walking here and there. To off set this I joined a gym, for the pool, but found the pool lacking! So I haven't been going and jsut called today to cancel my membership. Instead there is a Salsa Dance studio down the street that offers Zumba 4 days a week.

So I started going last Monday. Thursday was a total bust though, there is a different instructor and she is hyper and goes through the work out at hyper speed! I couldn't follow at all and left 10 minutes in! (I was having a bad day to) I am going to give it a go again tomorrow and maybe I can catch on better, if not Thursdays and Fridays will be a wash It's ok though cause my weekends are usually action packed and will make up for those two days.

Right now I am trying to stay at a calorie intake of 1440 and between 100 - 150 carbs. (I was averaging over 200 carbs!) So that is my super good girl goal, my overall goal is to stay under 200 carbs.

So the breakdown is this..

1440- calories a day
100-150 Carbs a day
1 hour of Zumba 3 X a week.
(340 - 800 calories burned depending on how hard I make a go at it)
1 hour of walking - 5 times a week
(200 - 300 calories extra)

Ok I rambled on enough..

CW - 185
GW - 175 (By Halloween)
GW - 165-170 (By Thanksgiving)
GW - 150 (By Christmas)

That's not too much to ask is it?

[tyla]

K, welcome to the group! It sounds like you have a good plan. Good luck with the gym and zumba classes. You are right about the instructors. Each one is different for the same class.

I wish you the best!

[tyla]

Day 9! I just got finished exercising. Have a very busy next few days, so I won't be around for a while. But let's keep at it.

[jinee]

Count me in. My mini goal is 155 by December 31. By Thanksgiving its 160.

[My Michelle]

Welcome Kandie and Jinee!

I ate way too much for dinner last night, I'm mad at myself. However, I am not going to wallow in bad feelings or continue repeating the poor behavior for weeks on end (as I have done in the past). I choose to move forward -- right back on plan, lots of veggies and fruit, exercise, some nice meditation. I can do this!

[Lishar]

I am a bit bummed today. Up another pound so back at 245. I hope it's just water retention from my weight training. I did extra on the treadmill today. I am so excited because I was able to walk 4.5 miles in 90 min. This is a huge improvement for me. When I started 3 wks ago I could only walk 30 min and not as fast. I still seem to have trouble for the first 20-30 min then I get my stride and can keep going. I have to convince myself to keep going until then. I just hope all this cardio can help burn some fat away.

My Michelle. Good for you. Start a new day. You CAN do this .

Welcome jinee.

Tyla good job keep it.

Ksquared welcome. That looks like a good plan. I just started Zumba and even in a slower class I can't always keep up. I just hope to get it some time.

[Snowbrocade]

Lishar: dont even let it get you down--I find that just when I am working my hardest my weight swings up a little--its like my body is askign em if I really mean it or something. then if you just hang on you get a bump. I will never forget when I was at weight watchers I went up 2 lbs after a really good week. the person who weighted me didnt know what to say (one of the reasons I dont like weight watchers). I was bummed but stuck to it. next week I was down 7 lbs--so basically I had lost 5 lbs in two weeks!!

one thing that really helps me is if I drink 96 oz of water daily--I use that figure cuz I read somewhere that it helps raise the metabolism if you drink that much water. I found I didnt yo-yo on my weight as much.

Okay so my check in--I am down another lb--I was a bit worried cuz I didnt really pay much attention to what I was eating yesterday but just not overeating and I had some sunflower seeds and pumpkin seeds last night and I wasnt sure exactly how much I had. I have to keep a better eye on that. but the weight is good so no worries.


hi kandie and Jinee: thanks for joining us!

kandie: just keep going-I know its hard when you havent made your goals in the past but all of us are that way and it is perserverance that counts in the long run--focus in on what went right as well as what went wrong--that makes the learning more balanced.


cheers everyone!!

sno

[Lishar]

Thank you Sno for the kind words. I am down 1.5lbs so down half a pound really. I think i was up from my strength training. I had a great workout today 20min before and after Zumba. So 2 hours of exercise. 800 calories gone.

[Snowbrocade]

Hi all!

I guess everyone is having a busy weekend! we have had company and I have had the challenge of eating out etc and not doing too bad. I figure for this weekend I will diet at most meals and then when we eat out of have our company I will eat the way I would like to eat when I am on maintenance. I think this is good practice.

for example last night we went out to a western theme restaurant. I ordered a burger with salad. shared the salad with ranch with the hubby, ate half of the burger after removing the top of the bun, had three of the hubbys french fries and half a glass of wine. then at home I shared a mango popsicle with the hubby--the one thing I have to watch out for is the sunflower seeds--those are addictive and while I didnt have a lot I can see where it could get scary. I am planning to avoid eating them except for a light sprinkle on a salad.

tonight I plan to make tomato soup and a salad and so it will be lite fare even with company.

cheers!

sno

[Lishar]

I hope everyone is having a great weekend. No weight change today.

I track my calories on my fitness pal. I have been reading in their forums about BMR and TDEE. I realize I have been eating too few calories. Several times I have read eating low can make you loose muscle and fat. If I am strength training and trying to gain muscle why would I want to loose more.
I was at 1200 calories originally but was getting really tired after exercising so went up to 1500. Now I am going up to 1900. My baseline calorie (BMR) need is 1735. That is just to breath and blood to pump. Anything below that has a potential to loose significant muscle. The body breaks down muscle and fat for fuel. So at 1200 and 1500 a day I might have been dipping into my lean muscle for fuel. I want my lean muscle to burn calories all the time.

So we will see how this goes. It's hard to get my head around eating more to lose weight. I am eating heathy so that helps too. I still think about that bag of twizzlers that was 1500 calories. I would eat the whole bag. Ouch.

[Ladybug10]

Happy Sunday everyone!! My last day of summer vacation. I'm excited/nervous to start school back up again.

This weekend went by fast! Had a get-together celebration with friends on Friday and had a few drinks and munched on snacks and food. Did not go as overboard as I normally do with the snacking but it did make my stomach ache the next day so I'm going to stick to plan for a few more days to get my body feeling normal again. My boyfriend recently purchased me a bento-style lunch box in the summer for school because I wanted it so badly and I've been putting it to good use this weekend during my library trips. My portion sizes are controlled very well and I adore how everything is organized in it.

[SunnySide99]

Hi everyone!

My weight has remained steady this week. After thinking about it, my plan is to lose 10 lbs for September, October and November. That will get me to my 4th goal by Thanksgiving.

I've really ramped up my walking workouts and I am seeing results so I hope this helps me reach my goals.

[ashori602]

I would like to be in the 140s by Thanksgiving :> So around 10 pounds (hopefully more) I really haven't been eating well or working out recently and I'm trying to join as many challenges as possible to get my mojo back! :O Hopefully all these different challenges will help me get back on track ya?

[Lishar]

Hello I hope everyone had a great weekend. I ate good the last 2 days and lost another pound. I plan on switching my weight training days to MWF and cardio TTH. I will see how this works. Also I will be measuring more and trying to weigh myself less. That one may be harder said than done.

Welcome ashori602. Good job so far with your weight loss.

Sunnyside good Job with your walking. I did a walk on Saturday and had fun. The nice thing is I felt a huge difference from when I did the same walk 3 weeks ago. I was wanting to go longer by my youngest daughter was done. Last time I was done too.

Ladybug you weekend sounds fun. I need to get a bento box. So many good treats inside.

Sno good job at the restaurant. I was nervous the first time I went out. I went online and looked at the calories of each item.

I'm off to the gym now.

[Snowbrocade]

Hi all!

I had a bad sleep all weekend and finally had a good one last night--but still very tired.

Up one lb--ate too much last night--not overeating just not dieting. am back on plan today.

I made an excellent roasted tomato soup this weekend and since I still have tons of tomatoes I may make it again.

Lishar: checking the calorie before eating out is a very good strategy. I didnt know where we were going so I had to wing it.

Ash and sunny: you both have the same goal--sounds very reasonable--10 lbs by thanks-g.

Lady: that bento box sounds so cute! what agreat idea. I think going to a party with the snax is super challenging. and I know what you mean--when you are not used to the rich stuff the stomach is unhappy. I think celery is the best to get the stomach back in shape.

have a fantastic monday!

what day are we on with this challenge?