~WISH Away The Pounds~ AMAZING APRIL 2014 Challenge! *All Welcome!*

[50sjayne]

Hey. I'm home sick today. I think just one full day of rest will kick it. it is so hard for me to do that but once I've accepted it--I enjoy it. I've got walking dead to finish, movies I can watch and I'm going to put together a tip list for my coworker for their trip. I have one I keep around but it's pretty advanced so I'll go through and add basic stuff. I'm pretty much in bed all day with the humidifier for company and many curious cats lol. It's just so not like me I'm sure they are wondering what's going on.
Good for you with your running group Lisa we all need a change of pace every so often.

 

[lloydy]

Yay! That is sooo exciting.



Nothing and it sucks! I am still on medical. I did take the dog for a mile walk today and my foot was ok with that. Not thrilled but not yelling at me either. I am scheduled for an OTF class at 8am monday, but I really think I am going to have two cancel it.

I am about that. I don't know if this works with regions and DVDs, but when I was looking for a traditional step aerobic DVD (Cher) I came across this:

Leanne Grose - Leanne's Chair Workout [DVD]
It is good for those who find it difficult to weight bare with both legs. I don't know what it is like as a work out but has some good reviews (amazon). I was thinking it might be a compromise that won't aggravate your foot. maybe?

 

[TheRose227]

QOTD: What are YOU doing for exercise today??

Today I went and ran and did strength training after. It's been warming up and nice to run outside again! I still really hate running, I think it's mostly out of being bored but I'm hoping being outside will make it better!

To all the CT peeps - I lived there for 30 years before getting so sick of the winters that I got the heck out of Dodge and moved to the land of the Mouse. Well, almost...

Man you did it right! I love hanging out in South Florida! Just a little over a month till I'm back!!!

****
I'm having one of those days where I'm totally not hungry. But I'm trying to eat now because I'm working overnight and know I won't be able to eat and won't eat when I get back early in the morning.

Next week I have my fitting to get my dress tailored so I'm hoping for one final push before this so it will look better!

 

[pjlla]

Morning all! It is DONE! The participants list is updated with your appropriate colors!! I think it is amazing that several of you are well on your way to your April goals already!! Way to start an AMAZING month!!................P

 

[pjlla]

QOTD: oh my gosh! 10 things? in order?! ummm
Expedition Everest
Tower of Terror
Illuminations
Fantasmic
Test Track
Boma
Space Mtn.
BTMRR
World of Color-DL
Aladdin-DL (can't remember the name of this live show, but I loved it!)
That's not in any order.


I know.... I had trouble making it a specific "order" as well... I kept switching up the numbers!

DH was asking me how much our anniversary trip to DLR cost! Think that means he needs a Disney fix! I said we'd go back when DS2 goes to college. Gotta be able to wear a celebratory button with "empty nest!" on it. Better start saving now!

Welcome to the newbies!

Better start saving now! Once that first tuition bill comes, the money will be gone!

QOTD: What are YOU doing for exercise today??

I have been putting off going on the wii for step class. So I am going to do that today. I have also been seeking out a local class as I am on holiday from work and want to try and get to a class. I think it mat have been 15 to 20 years since I did a class and I am a little nervous about that...
What about you?

Well, Friday's workout was a short-but-sweet circuit here at home (it was damp and cold outside). Arms, abs, legs. Saturday's workout was nonexistent unless you count lifting and carrying grocery bags! The day just got away from me!

Today I am running with my running group for my activity. This is totally outside my comfort zone but I am really enjoying it -- even though I am the slowest runner. Everyone is really nice and supportive and it's a lot of fun to run outside instead of circling the indoor track. I've shared this before but it doesn't hurt to remind ourselves.

Once you get started everyone is concentrating on working out and not paying any attention to anyone else -- what kind of class are you thinking about trying?

Have a great week-end all!

I've seen you post that before and it really rings true with me. Thanks for the reminder!

Just got back from my meeting - down 0.4 lbs. Not great, but I am still down, which is suprising considering that I threw 2 birthday parties that both involved cake products.

My activity for the day - my plan had been to take the kids for a walk to the park and play for a while but it is -5 (-12 with the windchill) so I might be switching to a new indoor walking tape I picked up from the library.

Nice job finding a loss amidst the cake! Yikes.... that is some cold weather for April!

Do I have a PM from you? I don't remember adding your name to the participant's list? Did I miss something? Anyhow....I'll add you right now and you can send me a PM with you goal for April when you get a chance!

WOW! That is cold. When my children were younger we used to make up dance moves to records on the jukebox. (I still do this if I am home alone )
I admire your planning with the tape. I must admit that I have been to a few local clubs and it doesn't look like they do aerobics or step, it is all Zumba and I can't get on with that. So, I have done 20 mins on the wii step instead, motivated by everyone on here telling me what they have done.
Isn't it great that you are down? Going completely in the right direction
Great!

Yup! Just keep moving! When I used to use the Wii Fit more, I build a platform for the balance board so that I was forced to step higher when I did the stepping.... it worked really well.... so when you feel like the Wii step isn't challenging enough any more, try that!

So far so good today. I am not very hungry, so I didn't have lunch till after 2 when I made myself eat. That happens to me though. Right before feminine issues, I am starving and then once they happen, I could care less about food for a few days. Damn hormones!

I'm ALWAYS hungry, so I'm a bit envious you could feel like that occasionally.

Hey. I'm home sick today. I think just one full day of rest will kick it. it is so hard for me to do that but once I've accepted it--I enjoy it. I've got walking dead to finish, movies I can watch and I'm going to put together a tip list for my coworker for their trip. I have one I keep around but it's pretty advanced so I'll go through and add basic stuff. I'm pretty much in bed all day with the humidifier for company and many curious cats lol. It's just so not like me I'm sure they are wondering what's going on.
Good for you with your running group Lisa we all need a change of pace every so often.

Feel better!!

I am about that. I don't know if this works with regions and DVDs, but when I was looking for a traditional step aerobic DVD (Cher) I came across this:

Leanne Grose - Leanne's Chair Workout [DVD]
It is good for those who find it difficult to weight bare with both legs. I don't know what it is like as a work out but has some good reviews (amazon). I was thinking it might be a compromise that won't aggravate your foot. maybe?

What a great suggestion!!

Today I went and ran and did strength training after. It's been warming up and nice to run outside again! I still really hate running, I think it's mostly out of being bored but I'm hoping being outside will make it better!

Outside is better for me, as long as the weather cooperates!

I'm having one of those days where I'm totally not hungry. But I'm trying to eat now because I'm working overnight and know I won't be able to eat and won't eat when I get back early in the morning.

Next week I have my fitting to get my dress tailored so I'm hoping for one final push before this so it will look better!

That dress fitting will definitely put some motivation in your week!

***********************

Okay.... Happy SUNDAY!! I'm here, I'm caught up with the chatter, and the lists are updated, so all is right in the world for me right now!

Went with my men to see the new Captain America movie yesterday. Totally NOT into that type of movie, but I knew they would feel bad about going without me.... especially since it was SUPPOSED to be a date movie for DH and I.... but there was nothing I was really dying to see so DH mentioned that DS (and he) was looking forward to this new Marvel movie.... I went along. And for those that know my TOTAL addiction to movie popcorn, you will be (hopefully) impressed to know that I brought along a large ziptop baggie of my own fat-free homemade popcorn! I added just a few handfuls of the movie popcorn that the men bought and mixed it in and ate the entire thing slowly and really enjoyed it! That is a HUGE victory for me!

I also made a healthy homemade pizza for the men (rather than the take-out I know they really wanted) and had just a small portion that I made just for myself with fat-free cheese, spinach, and red bell peppers. No chips, but I did indulge in a 64 calorie beer and 2 homemade cookies..... so overall a SPLURGE but not a crazy over-the-top day! Again, I feel that it is a victory!

That being said, my tummy did NOT appreciate all of those white carbs! It wasn't uncomfortable really, but it gurgled and grumbled long into the night.... and when I woke up thirsty and had a big glass of water at 6 am, it reactivated all of that grumbling! YUCK.

Weather is warming slightly, the sun is shining, so I see an outside walk/run in my future today. Plus I am planning to put a load out on the clothesline!! Dinner is burgers for the men, veggie burgers for me (again, I know.... DS requested it and I couldn't say no... ). Tomorrow's dinner is a new recipe for a chicken tortilla soup (I'll be using lean pork because of DS's allergies). I share it if it turns out good.

Off to make a belated breakfast for us all!....................P

 

[lloydy]

QOTD: I have a feeling we've all tried some crazy things to lose weight. what was a crazy diet that you tried? what did you learn from it?

I think the fast diet, where you choose to eat only 500 calories on three of the days in the week is probably crazy for me. I can pinpoint this as the phase when I started to put weight back on last year. The trouble was, my brain told me that the fast was a punishment, so I could reward myself on the other days. I know it has worked really well for some people, but not for me.

 

[lloydy]

Okay.... Happy SUNDAY!! I'm here, I'm caught up with the chatter, and the lists are updated, so all is right in the world for me right now!

Thank you

Went with my men to see the new Captain America movie yesterday.

Yay! Good on ya! I know what you mean I would have gone too, but not really my thing. The Frozen movie came out on DVD here and we got it yesterday, it felt like everyone around me was eating popcorn, but I managed to resist. Not the Pizza though - I did have some of that!
You did so well to resist.

Weather is warming slightly, the sun is shining,

It is raining here but I did walk the dogs a couple of miles in between showers. Will it be enough to burn off that pizza?

 

[ohMom]

I'm late..i'm late...for a very important date!

this past week I was super super busy and not even on my computer, well I bet 3 days of the week!

but I want to join in...important month for me, countdown of 5 weeks until Vegas girls trip. woot woot

I have actually been doing really good this past week, started a challenge among a couple friends, counting steps, journaling...and winner gets some ca$h for clothes shopping! our challenge is through Easter, then we are thinking of going again until Vegas. so I'm motivated! I set my step goal at 6500 which is where I think I can attain on a daily basis, and WOW this week I was Tired with a capital 'T'. another reason why I didn't get on the computer, I would sit down at the end of the day and not be able to move! LOL

I'm just going to jump in the conversation

the craziest diet I ever did, I did in HS and it actually worked, is called the Rotation Diet. it's a book. first week three days of 600 cal followed by four days of 900 cal. then a week at 1200 cal. then repeat the first week. I lost 15 lbs! I have tried to do it since, and just can't stick to it! it's pretty restricting, as you can imagine. it's a lot of veggies and one 'free fruit' a day. it's actualy pretty healthy, just too restricting for me --

 

[pjlla]

QOTD: I have a feeling we've all tried some crazy things to lose weight. what was a crazy diet that you tried? what did you learn from it?

I think the fast diet, where you choose to eat only 500 calories on three of the days in the week is probably crazy for me. I can pinpoint this as the phase when I started to put weight back on last year. The trouble was, my brain told me that the fast was a punishment, so I could reward myself on the other days. I know it has worked really well for some people, but not for me.

I can see how it would be SUPER easy to fall into that same line of thinking that you did!

Crazy diets??? What DIDN'T I try?? Cabbage soup diet, Slimfast, all-carbs diet , no carbs diet, and every single incarnation of WW that has existed since the mid 1970's!! NO LIE! Craziest was probably my own creation.... the "Survivor diet"! Lean protein (white fish and chicken) and brown rice only.... eaten from a crockery bowl with a wooden spoon (again... NO LIE!), twice a day. No salt, no oil, no fruit, no veggies.... boring as hell and impossible to maintain (at least, for me). I figured if they could eat like that for 39 days and lose all that weight, I could too! Except I couldn't.

What did I learn? That life and healthy eating needs BALANCE!! NOTHING should be all or nothing (except love!). What else did I learn? That I like food! And if you DENY me any particular category, that is exactly what I will CRAVE! And no splurges/treat = cranky me!! And eating to lose weight doesn't always equal healthy eating.... but that I desire HEALTH along with a maintainable healthy weight, so I needed to learn to eat RIGHT for health...not just eat low calories or low carb. And I learned that my body needs exercise, even if I hate it!

It is raining here but I did walk the dogs a couple of miles in between showers. Will it be enough to burn off that pizza?

Probably not enough, but a good start!

I'm late..i'm late...for a very important date!

this past week I was super super busy and not even on my computer, well I bet 3 days of the week!

but I want to join in...important month for me, countdown of 5 weeks until Vegas girls trip. woot woot

I have actually been doing really good this past week, started a challenge among a couple friends, counting steps, journaling...and winner gets some ca$h for clothes shopping! our challenge is through Easter, then we are thinking of going again until Vegas. so I'm motivated! I set my step goal at 6500 which is where I think I can attain on a daily basis, and WOW this week I was Tired with a capital 'T'. another reason why I didn't get on the computer, I would sit down at the end of the day and not be able to move! LOL

I'm just going to jump in the conversation

the craziest diet I ever did, I did in HS and it actually worked, is called the Rotation Diet. it's a book. first week three days of 600 cal followed by four days of 900 cal. then a week at 1200 cal. then repeat the first week. I lost 15 lbs! I have tried to do it since, and just can't stick to it! it's pretty restricting, as you can imagine. it's a lot of veggies and one 'free fruit' a day. it's actualy pretty healthy, just too restricting for me --

So glad to have you along! I'll add you to the participants list.... just PM me your weight loss goal for the month!!

Girls trip to Vegas? I'm SO jealous!!!!!!!!!!

******************

Okay, so the day is slowly warming up. I got a load of darks on the line. As soon as I add the second load I will head out for my walk/run. Then I will spend some time this afternoon prepping my dinners for the week! I'll share my menu later if anyone is interested!

TTYL.......................P

 

[glss1/2fll]

qotd Sat: I did a whopping one minute plank. That was my exercise. Today I will do a yoga video then it's back to the regular week day routine.

qotd Sun: nothing crazy for me; I'm too much of a chicken to be radical!

------
Susan-hope you are getting better. Tomorrow my son is auditioning for the choir at the OR Bach Festival held in Eugene every summer. I'm nervous because his choir teacher hasn't written his letter of recommendation yet. She has promised she will give it to him in the morning. He's also waiting on another letter from a regular teacher for a scholarship for voice lessons. Gotta figure out how to make a CD or post a video for them to review. It would be very nice to have somebody else pay for his lessons!

Pamela--fantastic job on the popcorn! Oh, we know all about college bills. DS1 is in his second year. Hope DS2 gets lots of scholarships, because we have no idea how we're paying for the second kid!

After church today DH and I are going to a used book store in Portland (Powell's!) hoping they will buy some of the books my in-laws made us take when we took a bookcase from their house (I took some to the local bookstore and got a check for $130-which I sent to them). We are trying to assimilate all the stuff they gave us, but it's hard. A ton of our stuff has been moved to the attic. But the piano is pretty much in tune, says DS. Also gonna hit Ikea to get a chair for DS. I realllly want to move a bed out of the teeny bedroom and get a chair that turns into a bed. May have to wait til DS1 is out of college and hopefully on his own before I do that!

Have a great rest of the weekend!

 

[mainemooncat]

QOTD: I have a feeling we've all tried some crazy things to lose weight. what was a crazy diet that you tried? what did you learn from it?

A couple weeks before my wedding I decided to create my own diet of eating nothing but Top Ramen Cup of Soup and Diet Coke. Not sure exactly what my thinking was on this, but these were two of my favorite foods at the time. Needless to say, this was not a very successful "crazy diet!"

 

[lloydy]

I'm late..i'm late...for a very important date!
but I want to join in...important month for me, countdown of 5 weeks until Vegas girls trip. woot woot I set my step goal at 6500 which is where I think I can attain on a daily basis--

WOW! I have never been to Vegas, but I would like to one day. This sounds like a great motivator. I am astounded by your step goal. Do you step up onto a stepper in a workout or is it a step counter that is counting your steps taken walking each day?
Go for it!

 

[lloydy]

A couple weeks before my wedding I decided to create my own diet of eating nothing but Top Ramen Cup of Soup and Diet Coke. Not sure exactly what my thinking was on this, but these were two of my favorite foods at the time. Needless to say, this was not a very successful "crazy diet!"

Yep! I can support that kind of thinking. I don't know what happens but it just seems like a good idea at the time. Like you say "crazy diet" [/COLOR]

 

[pjlla]

qotd Sat: I did a whopping one minute plank. That was my exercise. Today I will do a yoga video then it's back to the regular week day routine.

Thank you for the reminder.... I've been trying to incorporate a 1 minute plank and a 1 minute wall sit every day, even if I do nothing else... but of course, I forgot yesterday....

qotd Sun: nothing crazy for me; I'm too much of a chicken to be radical!

------
Susan-hope you are getting better. Tomorrow my son is auditioning for the choir at the OR Bach Festival held in Eugene every summer. I'm nervous because his choir teacher hasn't written his letter of recommendation yet. She has promised she will give it to him in the morning. He's also waiting on another letter from a regular teacher for a scholarship for voice lessons. Gotta figure out how to make a CD or post a video for them to review. It would be very nice to have somebody else pay for his lessons!

Fingers crossed for all of this for him!

Pamela--fantastic job on the popcorn! Oh, we know all about college bills. DS1 is in his second year. Hope DS2 gets lots of scholarships, because we have no idea how we're paying for the second kid!

Okay...I wasn't sure if you had one in college already or not.

After church today DH and I are going to a used book store in Portland (Powell's!) hoping they will buy some of the books my in-laws made us take when we took a bookcase from their house (I took some to the local bookstore and got a check for $130-which I sent to them). We are trying to assimilate all the stuff they gave us, but it's hard. A ton of our stuff has been moved to the attic. But the piano is pretty much in tune, says DS. Also gonna hit Ikea to get a chair for DS. I realllly want to move a bed out of the teeny bedroom and get a chair that turns into a bed. May have to wait til DS1 is out of college and hopefully on his own before I do that!

Have a great rest of the weekend!

WOOHOO for cash for used book!

A couple weeks before my wedding I decided to create my own diet of eating nothing but Top Ramen Cup of Soup and Diet Coke. Not sure exactly what my thinking was on this, but these were two of my favorite foods at the time. Needless to say, this was not a very successful "crazy diet!"

********************

Okie-dokie.... so instead of a 30+ minute walk/run, I opted for the first round of YARD WORK for the season!! Not that I am a big fan of yard work, but I'd rather get something accomplished during my workout than just "spin my wheel" so to speak. I tried hard to keep my heart rate up by doing 10-20 jumping jacks if I felt like I wasn't working hard enough. I did some runs around the yard back and forth to the burn pile with sticks and such, raking, yanking up obnoxious weeds, cleaned out a bit behind the shed for 100 minutes.... so even if I only kept my heart rate up for half of that, it was more time than I probably would have run... so I feel satisfied (and sore and dirty and scratched up! ). Also have 3 loads of laundry hanging in the sunny breeze. Hopefully it will dry before I lose the sun in the backyard. I can see the towels flapping around outside the office window.

Just had a small salad.... next up I'll have a bit of protein and then pull out my recipes for this week and get my veggies prepped. I am anticipating a full work week, but I'm not sure yet.

I see I have a few more PMs in my box, so I'll get things updated before I start cooking!..............P

 

[pjlla]

BTW, I made an executive decision as this month's hostess to add a color to our "percentages" rainbow of 1-9% lost.... it will be bright blue. I would hate for someone to have a loss but no color to show for it.... especially if they have a big goal for the month. So if you have lost even 1% towards your goal for the month, your name on the participants list will be changed from basic black to bright blue! ...............P

 

[Flossbolna]

Hi everyone!!

I was away yesterday and ended up eating far too much crap because it was around. It is really sad how I end up eating stuff just because it is there. I have no idea how to get out of that routine. I really really need to work on it, but I don't know how. I obviously lack any form of self discipline when there are somewhat attractive things to eat around.

Anyway, had a nice and active day with a long walk through the local Easter market and my daily Body Revolution workout. I am starting to see my body truly changing shape. I tried on some of my summer clothes today and am amazed that even though the scale did not move those fit about as well as before Christmas when I was considerably lighter. So, I must have added quite some muscles and hopefully those will help to burn away more fat!

I am half way through the six weeks I had set myself to get into shape before the cruise and I have already improved so much! I can fit into all the clothes that I had for my cruise last spring. Not well, but not much worse than last spring. And I do have another 3 weeks. If I manage to have the same kind of change in the next three weeks, I will be very happy - whatever that stupid scale is saying. So it seems what I have been doing is not totally wrong, there is success!

Also, was so proud of myself when I started out doing the "real" push ups this time and kept going and when I finally collapsed into the easier ones on your knees she said that moment: two more. I nearly would have been able to do one set of real push-ups!!

Yesterdays QOTD:

it was my designated rest day, so really not a lot of exercise at all. Especially since I also sat on a train for 5 hours... Maybe that I took the stairs instead of the elevator?????

Today QOTD:

I tried fasting once - for a whole week. I started with a portion of Glauber's salt to get my whole digestive system cleaned out and then it really was only herbal tea, water and one glass of fruit juice or vegetable broth (which I hate, so I think I never had it). Did not lose a lot of weight with it, but in a strange sense I felt it very empowering as it took a lot of willpower to get through. Hunger really was not as big an issue as I thought, but the craving for food was. Wanting to be able to taste something.

Otherwise most of my weight loss attempts have been very sensible, my mother has some training in nutrition, so I was taught a lot on this early one. Somehow the knowledge of how things are supposed to be does not make it any easier to follow it as my mother has been overweight for a long time, even though she knew exactly on what she should do to lose weight...

 

[pjlla]

Hi everyone!!

I was away yesterday and ended up eating far too much crap because it was around. It is really sad how I end up eating stuff just because it is there. I have no idea how to get out of that routine. I really really need to work on it, but I don't know how. I obviously lack any form of self discipline when there are somewhat attractive things to eat around.

It does take a lot of experimenting, thinking, planning and just TIME to learn to deal with certain food situations. For me it was swim weekends or any kinds of weekends away.... it always seemed to equal eating junk! Kind of like it was just PART of a busy weekend away.... like I suddenly had "permission". But I finally learned that just because I have a weekend away from the normal routine, that isn't a reason to eat too much or badly!

Anyway, had a nice and active day with a long walk through the local Easter market and my daily Body Revolution workout. I am starting to see my body truly changing shape. I tried on some of my summer clothes today and am amazed that even though the scale did not move those fit about as well as before Christmas when I was considerably lighter. So, I must have added quite some muscles and hopefully those will help to burn away more fat!

I am half way through the six weeks I had set myself to get into shape before the cruise and I have already improved so much! I can fit into all the clothes that I had for my cruise last spring. Not well, but not much worse than last spring. And I do have another 3 weeks. If I manage to have the same kind of change in the next three weeks, I will be very happy - whatever that stupid scale is saying. So it seems what I have been doing is not totally wrong, there is success!

Also, was so proud of myself when I started out doing the "real" push ups this time and kept going and when I finally collapsed into the easier ones on your knees she said that moment: two more. I nearly would have been able to do one set of real push-ups!!

Sounds like those workouts are really working well for you! I'm so impressed!

Yesterdays QOTD:

it was my designated rest day, so really not a lot of exercise at all. Especially since I also sat on a train for 5 hours... Maybe that I took the stairs instead of the elevator?????

Today QOTD:

I tried fasting once - for a whole week. I started with a portion of Glauber's salt to get my whole digestive system cleaned out and then it really was only herbal tea, water and one glass of fruit juice or vegetable broth (which I hate, so I think I never had it). Did not lose a lot of weight with it, but in a strange sense I felt it very empowering as it took a lot of willpower to get through. Hunger really was not as big an issue as I thought, but the craving for food was. Wanting to be able to taste something.

Otherwise most of my weight loss attempts have been very sensible, my mother has some training in nutrition, so I was taught a lot on this early one. Somehow the knowledge of how things are supposed to be does not make it any easier to follow it as my mother has been overweight for a long time, even though she knew exactly on what she should do to lose weight...

Many of us know WHAT to do to lose weight.... it is just a matter of actually DOING it!

**************

Evening all! Day is over and it was a busy one, but I am delighted with how much I got done! All of my dinners for Monday thru Thursday are prepped and can be put together fairly quickly. (The men have tix to a comedy show Friday night, so I won't be making a big meal that night.) I also did 3 loads of laundry, the previously mentioned yardwork, made a batch of healthy snack bars for DS's lunch sack this week, and a batch of low carb 'cookies' for DH to snack on. Plus..... I decided that the yard work wasn't enough exercise and I got out there for a 20 minute walk/run. It wasn't much, but I was pleased that I pushed for it.

Dinner is cleaned up and I'm going to watch a bit of TV with my men before bed. TTY tomorrow~.................P

 

[lloydy]

QOTD: I have often heard that losing weight for "something" is not a good idea. How do you feel about that? Do you agree or disagree?

I know a goal works for me... And Magdalen is doing so well with her new body programme ( I would like to hear a bit more about what is involved there). So, what about you are you working towards "something"?
Jules

 

[Flossbolna]

QOTD: I have often heard that losing weight for "something" is not a good idea. How do you feel about that? Do you agree or disagree?

I think if a certain goal is the only reason why you want to lose weight than it is not the right way to do it. For example if you only use weight to impress your former class mates at the reunion, once that is over you feel like now you are free to go back to your old habits. So the most important goal should always be to be healthy and active. BUT I think a goal like a certain event can be a great motivational help! It helps me focus. When I see that lovely ice cream bar and I would love to have one myself because it is a lovely sunny warm spring Sunday I can think about that I want to look good in my formal dress on the cruise - or the bright red swim suit I bought two weeks ago. So losing weight for "something" is only a help for my overall goal of losing weight for me to feel healthier, more energetic and just general better.

I know a goal works for me... And Magdalen is doing so well with her new body programme ( I would like to hear a bit more about what is involved there). So, what about you are you working towards "something"?
Jules

Jules, the program I am talking about is Jillian Michaels Body Revolution. It is a three month programm (well, 12 weeks). It comes with a million DVDs, but that's because every workout got its own DVD which I find is a bit silly, but I guess they wanted it to look like more as it is not cheap.

It is structured the way that you have two strength workouts and one cardio workout. You start with workout 1 (muscles on the front of your body like chest, abs, thighs) and then the next day you do workout 2 (muscles on the back of your body like back, hamstrings). Then the next day you do the cardio workout. And then you start with workout 1 again. After 6 days you get one day of rest (oh, and I really really need that day!!), second week is still the same. After two weeks you move on to workout 3 and workout 4 with the same pattern of front/back but still keep the same cardio program. And then after two weeks of that you move on to workout 5 and 6, but after the first month you get new cardio. Sounds more complicated than it is!

I really like it that you never do the same thing two days in a row, it does give your muscles time to recover. Every workout is about 30 minutes, so easy to incorporate in your day. I also like it that the first weeks are really used to build a foundation so that once you move on to the crazier stuff, you can actually do it.

I also find Jillian very motivating. I first did her program called "30 Day Shred" last year after people on her recommended it. I read lots of comments about Jillian on the internet of people who don't like her from her appearances on the TV show The Biggest Loser. Since I never saw that, I did not have any negative prejudice against her. But I find it amazing how she can actually really make you work harder with her comments! Her thing is that you should believe more in your abilities and encourages you to try out the harder stuff, just along the lines of that graphic that Lisa posted the other day: you have to move outside of your comfort zone to get to where the magic happens!

So far I have done three weeks of it, so I am still at the beginning. I have no idea how crazy it will get towards the end and if I will be able to do those exercises! But since I will only get to week 6 until I leave for vacation, I have decided that I will start from the beginning anyway after the vacation. She always gives alternatives for those who feel like the exercise is not challenging enough (and also sometimes alternatives if you feel like the exercise is too challenging).

It is not available for sale outside of the US. But I was able to order it from Amazon in the US and have it shipped to me for a not too outrageous fee (I think 12 $ or so). The DVDs are not country coded, so they work on a European TV.

If you want to check out Jillian Michaels DVDs, I found out that 30 Day Shred is actually officially available on Youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Pc-NizMgg8 as well as some other of her programs.

 

[donac]

Good Monday morning.

I am was planning to enter this challenge this month but I think I will just come by and chat and not do the weigh in. This has been a strange month and I need to get my head together before I get too involved with dieting.

My name is Dona. I am married to my college sweetheart for almost 36 years. I have two sons almost 29 and 24. They are both out of the house so it is just dh and I with our two cats.

I teach Advanced Placement Calculus and geometry. I have been teaching for 37 years in the same school. Dh retired last year and I plan to retire in June of 2015. I am in the process of working with a teacher who will replace me in the calc classes that I teach.

This has been an emotional month for me. My father broke his hip at the beginning of March. He made it in to rehab but ended up back in the hospital and was in ICU for 2 weeks before he died last week on his 89th birthday. During this time we found out that ds2 was accepted to a PhD program at Villanova with a full ride. He will be studying civil engineering to plan road construction. Then on the day my dad died I found out that I had been named Teacher of the Year for my school. There have been a lot of tears both good and bad in the last couple of weeks.

I am out of school today because I am allowed 5 days for a family death. I was out 3 days last week and my friends really wanted me out until Wednesday but I think I need to go back in tomorrow. Then I will only have 4 days and then off for spring break.

I have been doing these challenges for a while.. I have taken a break since Dec when I had a friend die. It is time for me to get back in the game.

Have a happy and healthy day.