Murphysraven

finally seeing the scale sloooowly moving down again. Back down to my 230 weight after gaining 2 lbs from going off appetite suppressant meds and upping my calories. Can't wait to break into a new lower weight.

Nice work keeping strong in the face of pasta!

2 more days of walking in. I didn't track with my phone ap since I was out and about doing shopping for the upcoming holidays. I tracked that I did 2+ hours of walking on saturday and 30-45 min on sunday. I am going to track it as exercise even though I was running around doing errands and shopping while doing it. I missed my second weight workout this week. No excuse for it I just kept putting it off due to having other things to do and procrastinating. Trying to refocus for next week and be better. Taa for now.

Neat bunch of articles for some of you crafty type Rebels out there. A bunch of clever ideas on how to customize jeans. I am not a great sewer but I plan on trying a few of these tricks with some of my (hopefully) soon to be too big jeans in hopes of not having to buy additional pairs for another size or so. http://tipnut.com/customize-jeans/

I thought I'd share a recipe I've been using for breakfast for about a month now. I'm not a big breakfast person. Most of the time I am not really hungry till about noon but I have found I can drink smoothies with no problems. I got the recipe from this website and have tweaked it a bit. http://www.sugarfreemom.com/recipes/green-protein-coconut-smoothie-dairy-free/ My version of the recipe 1 cup coconut milk (So Delicious brand, either original or vanilla) 1/2 cup 100% pasturized egg whites 1 cup frozen strawberries 1 cup fresh spinach 3-4 oz greek yogurt (I use a honey yogurt for extra sweetness instead of using stevia) It makes about 24oz that I put in a big cup and according to MFP recipe section the calories come out to be about 364 with 44 carbs, 12 fat and 21 protein. Its not a very attactive color and gets a bit foamy on top but that doesn't bother me too much. I add a few ice cubes in the smoothie afterwards to keep it cold on the go. Its not especially sweet for one used to having sweet drinks but its fairly tasty (and I hate the taste of milk, even though this isn't cow milk). It does a suprisingly good job of keeping me satisfied till early afternoon when I have some sort of lunch. AND its a sneaky way for me to get in vegetables in my meals since I tend to only eat veggies with dinner and fruit with lunch.

Great feedback Rebels. I felt pretty skeptical of this article but being as I am new to the fitness game I didn't feel like I had enough knowledge either way. I know for myself I am starting with lighter weights while trying to lose weight but hope to start lifting heavy eventually.

Here is the link to the article. http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/04/120430105358.htm#.T6iSFQVTF9Q.twitter I wanted to get some rebels opinions on this article.

Walking stats tracked with free andoid ap - My Tracks Tue - Walking 34 min Distance 1.4 mi Average speed 2.5 mi/h Wed - Walking 51 min Distance 2.61 mi Average speed 3.07 mi/h

Sounds like some good goals Redlegs. I started this challenge late as well. I especially like the no negative self talk. I have had a hard time with not doing that myself. Good luck to you!

So today I started on my first challenge which was to start a basic strength routine to build habit and (hopefully) ease my way into getting to like weights. Half way through my routine I was dizzy, lightheaded, and nauseous and broke out in a cold sweat. I feel pretty ashamed since I'm using pretty light hand weights. You'd think lugging around 80+ extra lbs. (used to be 100+ a little over a month ago) I'd be a bit stronger. I ended up not finishing all of my exercises till later in the day. So basically my "workout" was broken up into 2 short sessions. Am I still getting the same strength gaining benefit? I'm hoping this is just beginner’s wimpy muscles and I will be able to show progression at the end my challenge. After my rapid weight loss and feeling tired and weak I have decided that I am not eating enough and decided to up my daily calorie goals. It’s going to be one of my major struggles to step away from focusing on an unrealistic and damaging caloric deficit that helped me drop 20 lbs. in such a short period of time but I know (logically) in the long run if I really want this life change to stick for good I need to go about it properly. My biggest fear with heavy lifting is the OMG SO SORE KILL ME NOW feeling that I’ve gotten in the past from an over exuberant routine that left me not wanting to try again. I also worry about injury since I know my form is very poor (working on it). Being in college I’ve had to cut costs so all my workouts are what I can manage to accomplish at home with my limited equipment. I think eventually I’d like to explore the heavy lifting side of things but with my pathetic attempts today I think I should focus more on weight loss and smaller goals before trying to tackle the big weights. Advice/encouragement appreciated.

I did take some before pictures and some measurements. I'm taking note of how my clothes are fitting too. It's hard to see past that rush of weight falling off and realizing that *just* losing weight isn't going to ultimately give me the result that will last. Trying to stick with the slow and steady path and resist the (semi)instant gratification results that in the long run don’t give me to tools to succeed. Glad to have you guys here to keep me focused. Thanks for the stat values suggestions. I'm going to update my challenge.

Well, that first workout attempt was embarrassing. I *thought* I had a pair of 5lb weights, but they turned out to be a pair of 3lb weights in ball shape. So I decided to do the best I could with what I had. I got about half way through my 8 exercises before starting to feel lightheaded, dizzy, and nauseous and broke out in a clammy sweat. I feel pretty disappointed I can’t get through 8 fairly simple moves in a row. I’m hoping that even having to space the exercises out over the day in the beginning will still have some benefit in building up my strength. The first month I dropped weight too fast due to not eating enough. I’m so afraid of not having scale success that I tend to go to extremes which I think sabotage me in the long run. With my challenge dedication to becoming more regularly active I am going to try upping my calories to 1400-1500 daily and TRY to stop obsessing over the scale numbers. Here’s where I was able to get this morning. I’ll update again when I can finish the rest later today. Squat Weight Rep 3 lb (1) 10 none (1) 10 Chest Press Weight Rep 6 lb (1) 12 3 lb (2) 10 Bent-Over Row Weight Rep 6 lb (1) 10 3 lb (1) 10 Overhead Press Weight Rep 3 lb (1) 10 3 lb (1) 10 Sets completed later same day Reverse Fly Weight Rep 3 lb (1) 10 3 lb (1) 10 Bicept Curl Weight Rep 10 lb (1) 10 3 lb (2) 10 Tricept Press-Back Weight Rep 6 lb (1) 12 3 lb (1) 10 Lunge Weight Rep 10 lb (1) 6 (each leg)

“Murphysraven kicks in the door..” The theme of my first challenge is all about consistency. I’m trying to build habits that will change my body and my life. Since I’m starting this challenge late I am unsure of how to assign points and may need a little coaching on that. Background: I went from 253 to 231 in about 6 weeks with drastic dietary changes overseen by a medical doctor. I do not expect such rapid weight loss to continue, but I do want to continue to see progress as well as build habits that will last. I am tired of yo-yo dieting and being out of shape and want to change for good. Fitness goals 1. Strength training 2x a week on Mondays and Thursdays. Not setting a time requirement. I plan on following a youtube routine ( ) and keeping track of my progress as best I can. I hope to see a 5% improvement in strength (reps?) by the end of the challenge. STR+32. Cardio fitness. Walking 3x a week at least 30 min. This being my first fitness challenge I want to start reasonable but hope to exceed my expectations. STA+4 Diet goal 3. Continue to log food/caloric drinks consumed to hold me accountable. Eat at least 1400 calories daily. Listen to my body. CON+4 Life Goal 4. Get part time degree related internship, paid or not, by end of challenge. Graduation is next spring and I want some job experience to put on a resume. WIS+3

I don't know that I'll be very good with the weights at the beginning. but hey, that means there is LOTS of room for improvement right? I have a set of 3,5,10 & 15 lb weights. For someone who has little to no strength I am not sure if I should be trying my heavy weights at 10 or 15 lbs to start. I guess I'll just play it by ear and see if I can even do the full reps with the heavy weight first.

Thanks for the welcome Bekah. I did see the beginners body workout video and it may be something I try. However I have a youtube workout video saved that I wanted to try for my first challenge. here's the link I would love feedback as to if this would be a good beginners weight program.