Week 3 Challenges...

Thank you for being understanding last about last week.  Hope you enjoyed the week off from our 10 week challenge.  Here are the challenges for this week.

You can report daily or once at the end of the week.  Whatever you want to do if fine with me.

WEEK THREE

CHALLENGE #1     

Goal Area: Mental                                                  50-300 pts

Reflect on your progress daily. 
 At the end of each day, ask yourself what you have learned about your thoughts, emotions and behavior. Consider what you hope to improve upon or accomplish tomorrow and make a list/ develop a plan.  (no more than 6 items)

Developing mental strength is a work in progress. There is always room for improvement, and at times this will seem more difficult than at other times. Reflecting upon your progress can reinforce your ability to reach your definition of success while living according to your values.

50 points for each day.

CHALLENGE #2     

Goal Area: Physical                                                50-200 pts

Ditch one of your vices for an entire day and earn 50 points.  No sugar, no sweets, no chocolate, no alcohol, no lattes… whatever you overindulge in… you choose.  Don’t indulge (not even a little bit). 

Earn an extra 50 pts for each additional day you ditch it up to 4 days.

CHALLENGE #3     

Goal Area: Emotional/Spiritual                                                          1 + pts

Stretch and Meditate

Earn 1 point for each minute you spend stretching. Earn 100 point for listening to a guided meditation after your stretching.  Ideas for meditation are below.

CHALLENGE ****BONUS****     

Goal Area: Physical                                                     100 pts

Try a new activity or something that you have not done for a really long time.  Dancing, Jumping Rope, Zumba or some other.  Maybe play tennis, call a friend and go for a walk/hike, rollerblade or go swimming.  You get the idea!  Something different than what you have been doing

 ENGAGE IN THE ACTIVITY FOR 30 MINUTES OR MORE AND EARN 100 POINTS.

ALL CHALLENGES MUST BE SUBMITTED BY SUNDAY @5PM TO QUALIFY FOR WEEKLY ACCOMPLISHMENT. 

Guided Meditation Websites:

http://marc.ucla.edu/body.cfm?id=22

http://www.fragrantheart.com/cms/free-audio-meditations

https://www.meditationoasis.com/podcast/listen-to-podcast/

Clarification for Challenge #3:

Reporting on your Gratitude Journal

I just want you to let me know how many days you did at least the 4 entries... in addition let me know if and how it changed your daily outlook, was it the same? More positive? Let me know. 

Joyce

10 Week Challenge ~ WEEK 1

WEEK ONE

CHALLENGE #1     

Goal Area: Mental                                                                             100 pts

Write or video diary why you are doing the challenge and 2-3 goals you want to achieve during the next 10 weeks.  Also share what you feel are your 2 main barriers to staying fit and healthy.

Notate if you I can share with others and if so, if you would like to be anonymous.

CHALLENGE #2     

Goal Area: Physical                                                                           50-250 pts

Make up a 6 day workout plan and follow it.  Be specific. List the days and times for your ***Curves workouts along with the day, time and activity for your non-Curves days***.  Plan carefully!  IF you don't complete it as written...no points.  Proper planning prevents poor performance.  
Non-Curves/Alternate day activities can be walking, biking, swimming or anything that keeps you moving.  It does not need to be intense/high cardio or strength training.  You just need to stay active and moving.
50 points for creating it & 50 points for each day followed.

CHALLENGE #3     

Goal Area: Emotional/Spiritual                                                                   25-175 pts

Write in a gratitude journal every day this week. Find at least 3 things you are grateful for that day and 1 thing you are grateful for about yourself. 
25 points for each daily entry.

CHALLENGE ****BONUS****     

Goal Area: Physical                                                                            100 pts

Get weighed and measured!  Even if you already did it once this month do it again.  This way you will have a current starting point to watch your goals. 

If you really want weight/inch loss during this challenge get an extra 50 pts for a beginning/after picture (25 for beginning and 25 for after)

*** If you are not a Curves member, make sure to have 30-45 min of intense exercise at least 3 of the 6 days with alternate workouts on the remaining days.***

Make sure you sign up to the right if you want to participate.  That way you can submit your completed tasks.

Temporary Personal Leave & 10 Week Challenge

I am taking a temporary leave from "dieting".  However this does NOT mean that I am going to stop eating healthy or stop exercising.  I will keep you posted with my progress and what I am doing.

In fact I am beginning a 10 week challenge for my ladies at Curves.  I will post everything here on so you can join in too.  There is a point system attached to the weekly challenges for accountability.  If I get enough people outside of Curves wanting to participate I will figure out rewards for your hard work!


This Challenge starts Next Week --- March 24th.  

If you want to participate fill out the contact form on right.


I have pulled quite a bit of information from other sites and sources and will try to cite everyone so they get their due credit.  If I happen to forget someone please do not hesitate to ask or inform me.  There is no intention of stealing others awesome ideas.  

Antibiotics? REALLY???

Happy Halloween everyone!!!  Although for me it feels more like April Fools...  I have been increasing my activity and work outs and decreasing my portion sizes and amounts of Junk Food. And sadly I have not lost any of the weight I gained back.  Good news is that I haven't gained any more.  

After doing some research is appears that there have been studies associated with Antibiotics and weight gain.  Basically there are these healthy proteins and bacteria in your digestive system which help our metabolism that are affected by the antibiotics.  Since my sinus surgery I have been on 4 different kinds of antibiotics.  So my plan...

Probiotics!  I'll start introducing some probiotics live cultures in my diet to see if that will help supplement the effects of the medications.  Wish me luck.  I'll keep you all posted.  Just remember: We ALL hit road blocks and slippery slopes on our path to healthy living.  The key isn't to dwell on what went wrong - Change what you need to and can, then move forward.  Every minute is a new start!

Here are some links to articles on the effects of antibiotics:

http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=antibiotics-linked-weight-gain-mice

http://www.marksdailyapple.com/the-problems-with-antibiotics-they-kill-the-good-guys-and-make-you-fat/#axzz2jMl1qmTH

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/dana-ullman/do-antibiotics-make-peopl_b_491808.html

I would be very interested in any other information any of you find on this matter.

.... and I am back!

I know it been almost half a year since hearing from me.  I "took the summer off" since I had my oldest kids home for the summer.  The problem with that was this:  I stopped exercising, and ate junk food and large portions.  Should I have done it?  No!  Will I do it again?  Honestly - Yes, hopefully for not as long or eating as much. :)  I enjoyed the time with my kids however I need to be better at portion control and restraint.

Taking the time "off" has had definite effects.  I am sad to announce that after recommitting to myself and my health I weighed in.  I am now only 1 pound away from my heaviest weight since moving to back to Minnesota.  Ohh well.  Just gives me an additional kick to get moving.

Will be starting slow with the exercise as I am still recovering from surgery, but will be doing all I can.  I will be weighing in every week so we'll see how it goes!

My back to it weigh in results:

NOW OFF TO WORK OUT!

Migraine, Dehydration & Weight Gain - Oh My!

So these are the kinds of posts I hate to make and admit to.  I gained this week.  4lbs up!!  However I am not going to let it get me down.  Was I still following my diet? SOMEWHAT.    Was I still excersizing and staying active? YES.    Am I back on track now? YES!!

The majority of my weight gain came from yet another sinus infection & 2 migraines in the last 2 weeks.  During this time I did  things wrong:

1. Stopped eating my 6 "meals" a day (still ate proper foods - hence Somewhat :) )
2. Stopped drinking my water
3. Over exercising without proper nourishment & fluids.

I threw off my metabolism, put my body into starvation mode & got dehydrated.

In the last week I have been working to regain my metabolism and work off the added water weight.  To do that I am back to eating my 3 meals & 3 snacks a day, watching my portion sizes closely and again increases my water intake.  Since I weighed myself on Saturday discovering my 4 lb increase I have lost 2 of it as of today.

I'm happy that I was able to exercise even while being sick and it actually helped me to feel better for awhile, however the lack of nutrients & fluid wore me out faster & fatigued my muscles. 

For those of you that also suffer from migraines I know exercise is one of the furthest things from your mind, however it can help lessen the pain and deter more. 

The following is quoted directly from: http://www.migraineresearchfoundation.org/about-migraine.html

Exercise and Migraine
 
Exercise programs are frequently recommended to promote health, control weight, and prevent disease. But migraine sufferers typically are less physically active than those who don’t suffer. They often avoid exercise, worrying that the exercise itself will aggravate or trigger a migraine.
Sufferers who follow certain common-sense guidelines can improve their quality of life and increase their aerobic endurance and flexibility without aggravating or triggering their migraines. Here are some tips:

• Keep your exercise low-impact. Use equipment like stationary bikes or ellipticals that minimize pounding movements. Try yoga, isometric or band exercises.
• When using a treadmill, increase the incline rather than the speed to minimize pounding movements.
• Stretching and weight-bearing exercises are fine, but be careful of the neck area. This is a very tender and vulnerable spot that directly affects migraines.
• Drink water and stay hydrated. Dehydration is a very common migraine trigger.
• Take it slowly. Work up to longer and more intense exercise as your body gets stronger.
• Listen to your body – if an exercise aggravates your migraines, don’t do it! But don’t abandon exercise. Consult a trainer or physical therapist for alternatives.

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