Week 1 of December workouts is done! Tomorrow will be a rest day, and our work Christmas party as well, where there might be some dancing if I feel up to it after what will be a very busy Saturday at work. I have a renewed focus right now, I hadn't exercised 6 straight days like this in a long while. And eating is on point as well. I could do a little better with my water intake, but most days I reach 2 litres. Time to prepare supper, as I am working the afternoon/evening shift today.

Enjoy a great Friday everyone!

Week 1
1: 43 minutes upper body strength training with cardio intervals
2: 37 minutes lower body strength training + 100 squats challenge
3: 15 minutes yoga/stretching + 17 minutes pilates workout
4: 35 minutes upper back and biceps strength training
5: 26 minutes lower body strength training with HIIT intervals + 8 minutes HIIT workout
6: 35 minutes chest and triceps strength training

Vladadog Same!! (Further confirmed by old 3FC posts) In the last decade, the lowest I've gotten is around mid-180s, then I slack and 200s creep up. To be honest, I'm more anxious about/looking forward to seeing 170s than I ever felt about seeing Onederland... if that makes sense.

Martine Spinach and mushroom enchiladas sound delicious! You're such a loving wife! I'm trying to cook more (because if I dont, while I'm eating my salad and protein, my husband will literally eat bread and chips for dinner) I made my husband a beef and cheese stuffed spinach wrap. (The spinach wrap was my effort to get him to eat healthier!).

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Feeling MUCH better than I did a few days ago. I can breathe through one nostril, so it's a win! :P Went to an office Christmas party last night. Ate my share of unhealthy holiday food, and the scale reflected my choices in the morning. 189.0. Oh well. At least my son had fun playing with the other kids (a first for him). He usually just sits and quietly plays by himself in those situations.

vladadog you are really sticking to your plan so far, great job! Regarding new recipes, we are total opposites, as I almost try a new recipe each week and aim to not eat the same meal twice in a month (except when there are too many leftovers for just David and me, so we have to get through them).

shellofself my husband would also be eating frozen meals and take-out if I didn't plan our meals. He loves to cook actually, but he likes the convenience of ready-made meals. Glad you and your son enjoyed your office Christmas party. Ours was this past Saturday and I actually did not eat that much (veggie lasagna and a dessert).

WZin using 10-15 pounds is pretty amazing. I'm up to 15 pounds on two types of exercises only: squats and deadlifts, and I manage 10 pounds for bicep curls. Every other exercise is below that. What changes have you noticed doing your 5-week sugar-free challenge? Sugar is everywhere, it must be tough.

As I mentioned above, our work Christmas party was Saturday, after a busy work day at the store. I was tired and my feet were killing me, but I was asked to take photos so I was up on my feet a lot throughout the evening. I also got roped into a strange line dance that I couldn't keep up with and the Macarena, which I could keep up with but which lasted forever. And then there was the dreaded musical chairs game, where we discovered some of our employees are super competitive After that long day/evening, I was incredibly tired Sunday morning but had another long work day ahead of me. So after work I switched two of the workouts in my program and did a solid 31 minutes of stretching. This morning was all upper body work, and now I have 1 workout left to finish this program. I have free workouts lined up to finish this week.

Have a great week ahead everyone!

Week 1
1: 43 minutes upper body strength training with cardio intervals
2: 37 minutes lower body strength training + 100 squats challenge
3: 15 minutes yoga/stretching + 17 minutes pilates workout
4: 35 minutes upper back and biceps strength training
5: 26 minutes lower body strength training with HIIT intervals + 8 minutes HIIT workout
6: 35 minutes chest and triceps strength training
7:

Week 2
8: 31 minutes stretching workout
9:41 minutes lats and shoulders strength training

I love all the positivity going on in this thread! <3

Martine I try to avoid games with employees... people get uncomfortably competitive . I left before the White Elephant game started at my office's xmas party. That said, I woulda been 100% down for dancing the macarena! Sounds like a fun group!

Vladadog You're inspirational! Going to try and channel your commitment to sticking to IF this week! I've been eating over my calorie limit and before my window.

WZin Woohoo! Keep up the lifting! I did it for a month during my lunch break, and then... stopped. I need to start up again. :/

Quick update because I'm slammed at work: Still 189. Argh. My frustration is mostly over myself and relationship with food and moving lately. But I refuse to go back so... WE ALL GOT THIS!

Vladadog I too am done with Christmas shopping. Doesn't it feel like a weight (ha-ha) has been lifted off your shoulders? You are exercising extreme willpower with having those peppermint patties in your freezer. If there is a "junk food" in the house that I like, I will eat it ALL.

shellofself I think that mind change, saying "I refuse to go back", is what will keep you pushing through this plateau/funk/whatever phase you want to call it. In the past when I would try to lose weight and then give up time after time, I would just let things fall where they may. But now like you, I refuse to go back to my old habits.

WZin water bloat is annoying, but it goes away after a few days of being on plan. It's gaining actual weight that is more annoying I am impressed that you could lift twice your body weight at one point. But knee health is more important, I agree.

Yesterday I finished the Fitness Blender Mass program I was doing, and I am so thrilled with how much stronger I am getting. I really have to invest in a couple of sets of heavier weights if I want to continue my progression. For the rest of this month, I'll be doing free Fitness Blender workouts and then I'll see what I'll do to start the new year. I'm also doing very well in regards to healthy eating and my water intake. I am so committed to this right now that I woke up at 5am to work out, since I have appointments this morning and wouldn't be able to exercise later, before my afternoon/evening shift. But really I am no longer a first-thing-when-I-wake-up-I-exercise type of person.

Have a wonderful mid-week everyone!

Week 1
1: 43 minutes upper body strength training with cardio intervals
2: 37 minutes lower body strength training + 100 squats challenge
3: 15 minutes yoga/stretching + 17 minutes pilates workout
4: 35 minutes upper back and biceps strength training
5: 26 minutes lower body strength training with HIIT intervals + 8 minutes HIIT workout
6: 35 minutes chest and triceps strength training
7:

Week 2
8: 31 minutes stretching workout
9:41 minutes lats and shoulders strength training
10: 47 minutes plyometrics and lower body strength training
11: 35 minutes core and pilates workout

WZin On the heels of Thanksgiving, weight maintenance is a win and has been my goal/is my goal for the remainder of December. But congrats on getting an even bigger win: weight loss! 2 lbs in a week is awesome and means you're going into this weekend strong!

Vladadog You mentioned my favorite food (basically anything cheese and/or bread). I could literally eat a block of cheese. Btw congrats on sticking to IF every day this week!

gulfmagnolia By this time next year, you'll be celebrating your victories and talking about how it all started with a single choice <3

Martine I read your posts and think "ah, yes... fitness... next week!" It never happens, but I'm so proud of you for sticking to it--especially during the holiday season(!!) and remaining an inspiration to us all!

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TGIF!! Tomorrow is my first day off from work in two weeks, so I'm looking forward to relaxation (as much that is possible with a toddler) and just simply enjoying spending time with my family.

Completely off topic, but does anyone have a cat? If so, have you had to deal with spraying? Our male cat is fixed but he keeps spraying near the front door (started doing this several months back), and we have no idea why or how to get him to stop. It's pretty awful. I had to throw away some nice leather work flats because they were covered in urine.