*~*~*~ Spring Fling Challenge ~*~*~*
 

Welcome, chickies, to the second challenge for 2004.

We're closer to spring, and to warmer weather, it's time to make sure that we are ready for more outdoor activity in the next few months.

This challenge starts now, and ends on March 31, 2004, just in time for the crocuses to start peeking through the snow. We will be in better shape to start enjoying the season.

Whatver your program, whatever your fitness level, you can participate.
Post your goal for the next 6 weeks, and join us for support and encouragement.

This Challenge thread is being set up as a place, other than the journal, where we can all come to share our progress, our struggles, our triumphs, and to cheer on those who are committed to a healthier lifestyle, and to just talk! :)

Let the challenge begin!

* ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ *

All right...the thread is up...now for the goals :)

Spring Fling Goals:
* drink 64oz of water every day, before leaving work
* walk 1 mile (either WATP, or outdoors, or pedometer) each work day

Bonus Goal
* walk 2 miles each weekend (either WATP, or outdoors, or pedometer)

Continue to follow my Zone plan, and add additional workouts with the Shortcuts tapes to speed up my loss. I'll have my new measurements on 2/29 to know for sure what my additional progress has been.

Spring Fling Goals:
* Drink 80 oz of water a day
* Practice Kung Fu for an hour a day
* Workout 5-7 days a week
* Weightlift 2-3 times a week

I'll be weighing myself on 2/26, so I'll put up my weight loss goal then.

Spring Fling Goals!
 

Hey Babs! And Luna! Good to see you both here! Still trying to notify everyone that we're up & running!

My goals:

* Work out 5 times a week - 3x cardio, 2x weight training

* Stay under 2500 calories a day, and stick to modified Sugar Busters diet

* lose 10lbs + and/or drop one clothing size

* Be drinking 6, 8oz glasses of water everyday by the deadline

* Keep a consistent meal schedule (and general schedule)

~ Lilith

Count me in too, Chicks
 

:sunny: I'm SOOOOOO ready to lose these Winter blues and step into SPRING with a new outlook. My goals are to drink AT LEAST 72 ounces of water a day, stay on my Weight Watchers at home program and exercise 3-4 times a week (30 minutes each time). I'd like to personally thank Jennifer for all her encouragement, motivation, and patience during my whining and wailing. And I'd like to also thank her for all her work on, and FOR starting up this challenge. Looks great, doesn't it? :encore: Hope to see you all soon. Mary in WV

:wave: Lilith & Mary! Yaaay!

Okay, now that I've gotten everything taken care of...at least I think, I am off to go clean up, maybe even take a bubble bath & enjoy what's left of my day off. :)

Thanks, chickies, for embracing this challenge. I'll catch you all later on!

(Now I have to think about a darned signature line, too???? sheesh!) ;)

Hello All
Jennifer, Thank you for starting this I was looking for a spring challenge and by the time this is complete winter will be gone!

Goals:
Drink 64oz water daily
Stay for the WW meetings
Cardio- 60 mins at 80% capacity 4x/week
Finally figure out how the strength training/resistance machines at the gym work- although I have belonged to a gym for 5 years, I have yet to venture to that side!
Lose 15 pounds.
Thanks
Jen

Healthy Evermore in 2004
 

Hey Jennifer, I am with ya too. Okay, for my goals:

Exercise every morning before work (5 times a week) and a 20 minute walk at lunch time every day at work. At least one day on Sat or Sun I have to take a walk downtown or go to the park or the zoo to walk.

Keep writing down all my meals

Try not to have very many splurge days.

Plan what I am going to have during the next day before I go to bed.

Keep my apartment nice and clean (I feel the more organized I am at home, everything else seems to be a little easier).

I will try to join or audition for more things so I can stay busy

It's lessofme in cognito
 

I'm here, but don't know if this is going to work. I'm still trying to naviagate! :?:

NOW I can post--Geesh!
 

Maybe I'm just a little out of touch with this technology thing, but I thought I could do this. Goals will be posted tonight! Thanks for the invite and all the links. I need you to tell me what to do with the really cute Spring Fling icons because I want to use them! Oh wait, I think I figured it out...I just have to download them and then attach them, right? OK...what about using them with my name, like everyone else is doing? Oh boy...

Goals...gotta go take a nap then think about them and put them down on paper! Gotta get focused. Gotta get to the store. Gotta stop eating like I did in Chicago (had lots of exercise, though!)

I feel motivated and psyched about this group. Thanks so much for setting it all up Jennifer!

Welcome everyone!
 

Hey there, Jen, June & Julie! Welcome! (That was a mouthful!) Glad to see some new faces here with our challenge group from the Journal for Valentine's day. :D

Julie, you're lucky I checked your profile & recognized you. I'm brand new to the forums, so I'm learning just as much. As far as the icons, save the ones I emailed you to your computer, and then go to User CP- pick "avatar" and then upload one of them from your computer...voila...yeah, I know, sounds easier than it is. I still have to play with all the settings there to figure out how everything works. LOL

I'm up for it!

My current stats: 5'1", 160 lbs (yay I lost 10!) and in a size 13/14/15.

My goals:
Work out 3-4 times per week on the bike.
Go on a 25 minute walk every night with my husband and dog.
Drop from a size 14 into whatever happens.

Other goals: Eat healthy dinners every day and remember to take my diet pills!!
Starting on March 15, get my flowers started and spend 20 minutes every day tending to them.

Jennifer

I would like to join this challenge, I need to lose 15lbs or 1 size. ;)

Goals are: drink 64ozs of water
walk 30 minutes each day
stick to my ww points :devil:

Hey, Jennifer,

I'm brand new to the 3FC site and was thrilled to find a challenge right away. My goals:

* Walk at least 5000 steps daily and average 52,000 steps per week
* Drink 64 oz water daily
* Stick to the modified Carb Addicts plan that works for me when I stay on it
* Don't miss a weigh-in unless I don't have access to my scale due to travel
* Lose at least 5 pounds

My (General) Goals for Spring Fling 2004 (specific goals to follow in another post)

*Be honest and true to myself especially with food

*Journal food eaten daily

*Weekly Meal plans (they do work for me!)

*Check out a specific diet plan (The Zone, South Beach, etc.) and stick with one.

*Buy a work out tape/DVD (Maybe WATP)

*Be kind and loving to myself and others daily!

Hi! I've enjoyed reading everyone's goals and I've made some general goals of my own, which I will refine and add to as time goes by. I would like to lose 10 pounds by the end of this challenge. To do this, I will: 1) drink 64 ounces of water per day, 2) try one new healthy recipe per week, 3) try a variety of strategies to reduce impulse and stress-related eating, 4) write in my food/motivational journal daily, 5) exercise in some way at least 3 times per week, 6) incorporate exercise into my work day, and 7) write in my gratitude journal and do other things of that nature to try to maintain a positive attitude. I have been doing all of these things inconsistently, but I hope this challenge will help me be more consistent. Good luck everyone! I look forward to being one of many losers at the end of the challenge.

Hi! I would like to join the Spring Challenge too! Thanks Jennifer for the invite!
My goals are:
--Lose 10 pounds to get to my prepregnancy weight of 165
--Walk 30 minutes everyday
--Weight training 30 minutes 4x/wk
--Drink 32 oz. water before work
--Stay between 1200 - 1500 calories/day
Good luck and thank you for the motivation!!

great turnout for day 1
 

Welcome, Lucy, Northern, Sharon, Bestfigure, and Geeklover!

Thanks for joining us! :) I think we've got a great turnout for day 1, and a holiday, too.

I'll be calling it a night- I have to get a few things finished before work tomorrow. Thanks for the great kickoff, and I'm looking forward to tomorrow. Have a wonderful night, everyone! :D

-Jennifer

HI ladies

Here are my goals for the next 6 weeks!

Exercise: 6 days a week; with 3 days of running, 3 days of cross training and 3 days of strength training, thats on my running days.
Running goal:complete 6 miles at a pace of 12 minute miles
weightloss goal: 6lbs ~ CW 155 that would put me finally in the 140's

I think its going to be a tough 6 weeks, but I think with y'alls support we are all going to meet our goals!!!! :)

take care
Holly
SW 198
CW 155
GW 125

Thanks, Jennifer, I'm in (I hope)
 

Hi Jennifer and all Spring Chicks, thanks for the Challenge.
My goals :)
1) Workout four to five days per week.
2) Stay within 50 carbs per day.
3) Stay within 1200 to 1450 calories per day.
4) Get to the Blue Ridge to hike at least twice before end of Challenge.
I am so glad to have this Challenge, to get help with focus on these areas.
Have never got the hang of threads so I hope this is right.
Avatar? No idea. Do we need one? Where do we get one?
Lyn

Hi there girls! Glad to have you in charge of this Jennifer! Thanks. I will post on the journals each day to tag the gals there that can't get here and also come here to say hi as well. I wondered why there wasn't anyone there yet this morning when I got on at 9:30a my time....:) You were all here!

I did well today. Had to make cookies, but I only had 3. Not bad for me. Water was good and walking exercise. I posted my goals on the journals, but will do it here again, because of course, this is where I belong!!

SW-176
CW-163
GW-150

Plan is to get 110 oz water each day, exercise 5x week, eat only what is OP except for a little freedom one day a week, JOURNAL EVERY DAY!!! Man I really struggle if I don't journal what my eating plan is for the day, so that has to be a must if I am going to be successful. I am going to start working with the weights a lot more during this challenge. I know things will happen more quickly if I do....so here goes!

Talk to you all tomorrow! C-

Great Idea ... count me in.
 

I plan to lose 10 pounds by easter.

The way I am going to achieve this is by:

1) Exercise

Before work:

monday & wed = yoga at the gym
tues & thurs = pilates at the gym
Friday = yogalates at the gym

After work:

Monday & Wed = hike 3-5 miles
tues & thurs = kickboxing class and/or calisthenics/resistance/weights

Weekends:

Hike 15 miles
casual bike ride around the neigborhood.


2) Food

eat mainly vegetables & fruits only lean meat, skinless chicken & fish
eat foods low in fat and cholesterol
limit processes or prepared packaged foods
eat out only twice a wk
prepare my lunches and dinners on sundays for the wk
keep calories between 1300-1500
no more then 2 eggs per wk
no more then 2 slices of bread per wk
only one baked potato per wk
take snacks to work (radishes, carrots, apple, etc)

3) Water

64-100 ounces per day ..... more when hiking

4) Multi vitamin

So thats the plan ....... 6 weeks, 10 pounds ...... 1.6 pounds per week. I can do this, its possible and very achievable. If by easter I have lost these 10 pounds I will reward myself by buying myself a ring (i've lost 130 so far and none of my jewerly fits).

275 starting weight
147 current weight
137 spring fling challenge goal
129 ultimate goal (by the end of 2004)

Holy Smokes! You are kicking butt! You go...you can do the 10lbs by the end of this challenge! We all need to be accountable to one another and we can do this together! Your goals are high...sounds like you know what you are doing, though. Hiking...great! That's my ultimate goal! I want to start in the Spring (here in MI that means May!) hiking a couple times a week. We live near the dunes of Lake MI, so it's not a problem finding trails.

Good luck and keep us motivated, ok?

I think this is the first time I've actually posted something (even though I registered a year ago)!

Goals:
Lose 10 lbs (down to 160)
Lose at least 1.2% body fat (to be out of the 30's for body fat percentage)
Fit into my prom dress from 10 years ago :)

(New) Strategies:
Run intervals once a week
Do weightlifting 2x per week
Increase 1-mile jog speed to 5mph
Increase 4mph jog distance to 2 miles

Hi Chicks!
 

WOW, what a turn out! This is going to be great. I'd like to edit my goals, as I forgot to add journaling daily.
* 72 ounces of water a day
* Stay on WW at home (POINTS)
* Exercise 3-4 days a week (I kept this low to avoid burning out, but I may
acheive more)
* Journal daily (food journal on paper) and my thoughts either on line or on
paper as well)

Thanks again for having me here. It's going to be a great Spring. I can't wait to get my bike out of the spare bedroom and dust it off. I'll be burning up the trails in no time.
Mary in West Virginia :dancer: :barbell: :dancer:

Morning, chickadees!
 

Good Morning!

I think the only thing worse than a Monday is a Tuesday disguised as a Monday. Bleah!

HappyTX, Cristin & Roc, welcome! Glad to have you joining us! Roc- your numbers are amazing- that just shows us that our goals are attainable...wonderful! Wow!!!

All right, I'm into my first 24oz of water, so we're well underway.

Breakfast was:
1 peach cottage double
1 oz fat free swiss cheese
1/3 cup Smart Start
12oz diet coke (no, I'm not giving that up- I am allowed to have 1 vice)

Lunch defrosting here:
1 cup chili
1 cup brown rice

Dinner- nothing planned, but lunch will be very filling, so I might just go with something lighter. I want to get my Shortcuts Upper Body tape done tonight, and I'll preview the abs one to see if I can do any of those exercises. The legs one- there were 2 moves I couldn't do- guess I have to lose more before I'll be able to do those moves, but I did leg lifts when I couldn't do the actual exercise there. The UB, I can do all the exercises, and I can feel the results as the muscles start to actually firm instead of just hanging there like they have for too long. ;)

Have a wonderful morning, and I'll check in later on! Good Luck to all of us on this Challenge!

Hi Everyone,
Last night, I did not drink water once I got home, I watched too much tv, I didn't exercise, and I ate cookies for dessert. I could have gone to the pilates class, drank water, kept the tv turned off, and not made cookies. I would have felt good about myself this morning and I would have gotten some momentum going. Today, I can get back on track by drinking water, doing mini-exercises throughout the day, finding motivation, thinking before I eat, exercising when I get home, and of course- finding motivation in all of your posts. I read a quote that went something like this "every new day is another chance to turn it all around". Have a great day!

It's great to see so many people accepting this challenge! I really hope everybody meets their goals. I finally weighed myself last night (I hate getting fixated on it) and I lost 4 pounds! Guess I should weigh more often LOL. Actually, I weighed myself so that I could set my weight loss goal for the Spring Fling Challenge.

SW 183/ CW 179 / SFC 169/ GW 125

There are my stats, I want to lose 10 pounds during the challenge, which seems reasonable for 6 weeks. Well I hope everybody has a great day.

Good morning everyone! It is great to see the familiar friends from the V-day challenge as well as all of the new ones for Jenn's SF Challenge! You guys all rock and I thank you for keeping me going.

So, I don't know how to use this side of things except to reply in the post. I don't even know how to find it except clicking the link Jennifer sent me! I am so illiterate! Help someone please..... :)

I am doing my pilates dvd today and sticking OP strickly. I want to lose, not maintain this weight, right?!?

Food plan for the day: B-soy milk in cereal, S- banana w/ PB, OTL today and will make a wise choice....S-nuts and cheese, D-bocaburger with apple, S- yogurt and cottage cheese

Water is no longer a problem for me thank heavens...but I gotta stay strict OP for weight loss. I will do 15 minutes of weight lifting tonight as well. I have a muscular build and I know that if I will just work them, they will tone and help me burn off this fat I am getting rid of! :)

I will check in later today and see how everyone is doing. Have a great day and be healthy and smart in your choices!!!!!! :) C-

Ready to fling my fat for spring!
 

Thank goodness I found this site! Thank you, thank you, thank you!
My goals for this challenge are:
1. Loose some lbs for health sake!
2. Eat healthy and low carb.
3. Drink, Drink, Drink the H20 till I can't drink no more.
4. Walk everyday during my lunch hour at work.
5. Go to water aerobics at the pool 4 nights a week.
6. Love myself for doing this for me!

mama mia, I like #6...something we all should be adding to our list of goals. :) And welcome to 3FC, as well as the Dpring Fling Challenge.

Afternoon peek-in as I drain my third 24oz glass of water. Will fill it again on my next trip back to the fax machine. That's the best part about my job...the cold, bottled water in the water cooler. :)

Hubby has 2 late appointments tonight, so I'm going to use that free time wisely- I'm going to do the Shortcuts Upper Body workout, and then put in the 2 mile WATP...see how I feel after the first mile- I may do the whole 2 miles, since I don't have to worry about being super-flushed at home. ;)

A friend of mine mentioned tuna this morning & that sounded good...I'm thinking about making tuna with fat free miracle whip for dinner...toasting 2 slices of the Pepperidge farm light oatmeal bread, ans letting a slice of provelone melt onto the toast, followed by 2 oz of tuna on each piece of toast...open face tuna melts...with some of the no-sugar-added sweet gherkins. Mmmm...yes, that sounds really good. And when I'm done, I'll make more tuna so I can bring that for lunch at least 1 day this week.

Everyone, have a wonderful evening..stay OP...we can all do this together!

-Jennifer

Hi Everyone,
I'm in! I weigh 159.5 (5'4 1/2") and I would like to get down to 145 by 3/31, and then to 125 by 6/15. I'm 34 years old and my weight has always fluctuated going as low as 120 and as high as 186. It's time to bring it down and stay healthy so that I can fully enjoy life! :cb:

My plan is:

*Take yoga and kickboxing classes thru my gym at least twice a week (I just joined yesterday with some friends) :strong:

*Get regular exercise through walking or my Power 90 dvd on days that I don't go to the gym so that I exercise at least 5 x week. :drill:

*Keep carb count low (right now I'm on the Induction phase thru Atkins) but also keep the fat intake low too. I also count points (using WW at home) along with carbs. I realize it might be overkill but as long as I keep either range daily, I'm happy. :dizzy:

*Stay hydrated :p

Okay, I'm ready! I'm so excited (and I just can't hide it - I'm about to TAKE control...and I think I like it :D

Welcome, Velma! That excitement is contagious! :dizzy:

I'm hyped now, but that's not how I felt when I got home. Arrrgh! What a day! I think everyone with a problem or an issue found my phoone number, or plopped down in my office. Take a holiday off, and 16 people leave multiple messages "Please call me back in 10 minutes- I've left you 3 messages...." Sheesh!

Well, I was agitated when I didn't get to leave work until 10 after 5. A client showed up, and the loan officer I work with told the receptionist I'd help him...but failed to tell me I needed to go see him. Soooo, after 10 minutes of him sitting there stewing, the receptionist called me, and asked when I was going to go handle *my* client. Then, hit traffic, and sit through several light changes to get nowhere, thanks to inconsiderate people. Ok, end of griping ;)

Hubby worked late, so to fill the time, I made up for no exercise yesterday. Did the Shortcuts Upper Body workout, and increased the weights to 5 pounds from 3 pounds. I could feel the "wobble" you get in the muscle when you know it's tired. Hubby came home & caught me in mid butterfly. LOL I think he's surprised that I'm sticking to my program, and my challenge goals. I know that this is a lifestyle change, and maybe now he's seeing the extent of my commitment. When I finished the 30 minutes of UB, I popped in the 2 mile WATP, and did 1 mile of it. It's a little more challenging than the 1 mile tape, because of the more intense movements, so I did get into the fat burning mode. And luckily, I haven't done that tape enough to be able to quote Leslie (I'm worried about you Linda. I gotta tell you, she's a grandmother. Good looking grandmother. Go Randy.) LOL- yeah, I have lost it!

Dinner: prepared for tonight, and another prepped to bring to lunch tomorrow
2 slices light oatmeal bread, toasted
2 slices provelone cheese (allowed to melt into the toast...mmm)
4 oz tuna (making 2 open-face sammitches)
6 no sugar added sweet gherkins.

Mmmm! Mary had mentioned tuna this morning, and that just sounded good! :) No real cooking involved.

Now I'm off to kick off these sneakers, and kill an hour cleaning before "24" comes on & I don't blink for an entire hour. Have a good night, everyone, and catch you back here in the morning!

I did good today.
For breakfast, I had a small granola bar (I'm not hungry in the morning so at least I ate SOMETHING instead of forgetting like usual heh).
For lunch, I had a bowl of Shrimp Pasta (which is yummy and has tons of garlic and shrimp in it so it's GOOD for me!).
All I've had to drink today are 3 bottles of water -- 1 to go to hit 64oz.

I dragged the exercise bike into the bedroom, where it belongs, and did 15 minutes on that. MAN it hurts my butt! I forgot how bad that was on a bony butt. (How is it I can be too fat everywhere EXCEPT the bony part of my butt?! Aggh!) So my butt hurts but that's okay.
Then I did 50 regular sit-ups and 20 of those side-style ones that work the sides of your tummy and back.

And now I'm chillin' out waitin for the hubby to get home. We're going on a 1-mile walk tonight with the puppy and having spaghetti for dinner. Yum!

A healthy day, all around. I'm proud of myself for kicking my butt into gear! Woot for me!

REMEMBER!! You don't just magically get motivation. You have to make yourself do it to GET that motivation. Once you get moving, the motivation and energy are there!

If you had a bad day today, get back on track tomorrow.

Hello again gals! Day has gone well...my lunch was the low fat Asian chicken salad from Applebees without all the crispy noodles and the dressing on the side. I didn't get my afternoon snack in, and also added some veggie chips with my dinner, but I feel good about my choices. I have had my 100 oz of water and did both my WATP 1 mile and pilates DVD. My back is really sore from doing the pilates rolls....any suggestions? Kicked my own butt....yes I did!

Hope you all have a great night. I am watching "Intolerable Cruelty" while I am waiting up for hubby. I'll let you know if it is any good. :) Thankfully kids had showers this morning and that job is done for the night! Carefree in the evening works for me! I just have to stay out of the kitchen...no problems for now...I will have my yogurt and cottage cheese as planned and be happy about the sweetness there! C-

We have had two days in a row with no wind blowing, so I took to the road and had 2 half hour walks each day. I just got in from a 40minute walk tonight and will try again tomorrow if the weather holds. With this spring challenge I'm also trying to up my water in take and today I made it to 32ozs. I am hoping for a loss this Thur at ww.

It seems so long before the needle on the scale goes down. :?: It doesn't seem as long to see it go up. :s:

Jillmommyc -- Pilates advice: They aren't actually that good for you, because you're stretching contracted muscles. It can cause muscle strain -- my massage therapist has seen a bunch of injuries lately from them!! If you are going to do them, though, make sure you aren't pulling on your back the wrong way.

If you're interesting in toning stuff, try the balance-ball. It's also GREAT for back pain. I have bad discs and a really messed-up neck, so I can't really move a lot, but the balance ball is AWESOME and I've seen great results.

Feedback...
 

Mama-I am with Jen- #6 rocks and I have added it to my list as well! Thanks for the thought! ;)

Velma-What a great plan you have in place! I too have combined many different plans to make the one that works for me. I lost 13 lbs. during the V-day challenge and am attempting to lose another 13 for the SF. I think that is a doable goal. We are very similar, I am almost 34 and am 5'4" and currently weigh 163 shooting for 150 during this challenge. Ultimately I want to be 135-140lbs. I have a large bone structure and a muscular build, so much under that and I start to look a little sick. So, here we go! We can really keep tabs on each other and hopefully lose at the same times and stuff...I will watch your posts for your success! :D

Jenn- I love 24 so much I can't watch it during regular season. My mom buys it every year and we take a weekend and watch it non-stop until we are done. I just can't handle the suspense! I am sick, I know! :dizzy:

Lucy- Thanks for the words of encouragement! Motivation is truly bread from the energy spent doing the thing you are trying to be motivated for!!!! Does that even make sense? you know what I mean... LOL! :lol:

Clipper- Your day will come when that little needle can't help but smile on you...Hugs until then! C- :)