Nutrition & Diet February Health Challenge

[PTree15]

Good luck with the tests, shyvas!
Oasis, I like that "I'm just being sensible." I'm going to steal that.
Raggle, you are up to level 3 of the 30DS??? I'm impressed!

I have been much better with the exercising this week: Three straight days of cardio and one day of weights. I plan on getting six days of cardio in this week, even while traveling, because I will be eating and drinking more than usual this weekend. My nephew's wedding is on Saturday, but not until 2 p.m. I have no excuse for not squeezing in a workout.

 

[hungryraccoon]

I've done 30DS lots of times. Think I got it early last year actually#!I just use the workouts individually as & when I want them but generally avoid level 3 hahaha.They are really good, quick & effective little workouts! Highly recommend.

Body aches today...ouch.

 

[PTree15]

Good on ya for tackling level 3 then! Hope the aches subside quickly.
I did interval training and my calves are a bit tight. It's all good, though.

 

[Blobbenstein]

my weight goes up and down...I've been up the mountain twice this week, so I guess I've put on muscle...?

 

[hungryraccoon]

I'm so bingey at the moment.

 

[CrazyCatLady]

I was trying to take a pic of my abs to track my progress to my target of having a 6 pack by summer. Instead I'm more pleased with my arm looking toned haha!

 

[hungryraccoon]

Woohoooo muscles!

 

[shyvas]

Nice and slim Crazy !

 

[Oasis]

Wow, lookin' good! I hope my stomach will be as flat as that by the summer!

 

[PTree15]

Awesome, CCL!

 

[Oasis]

So I decided to share my five-day-goal here to try help me stay accountable. (I'm doing it with my sister too, and we keep updating eachother, so that helps the willpower too) Anyway. This week I'm doing a Monday-Friday challenge of NO sugar of any kind. The only exception is natural occurring sugar found in fruit. So no maple syrup, no cane sugar, no rice syrup, no brown sugar, no condiments or dressings containing it etc. (as a sidenote, I don't believe in artificial sugars. In my opinion, the only thing worse than sugar is fake sugar, so I'm not using those either)

I used to have a terrible salt habit. I'd always put a bunch of seasoning salt on my rice, I'd snack on potato chips, pretzels, and just about anything else with salt in it. Anyway, I finally realized it was important to my health to hugely cut back. This endeavour was a success. I hardly ever have salt in my diet at all. When I DO use salt, I just use a little bit of Himalayan pink salt. So at least it has lots of minerals.
Anyway, to get to the point, this person who never craved sweet things apparently filled the void for the sudden lack of salty goodness with lots of sugar. Ha. Traded one bad habit for another.
Earlier I said a goal was to have no more than one treat per day. I managed that up until Monday, and now my goal until Friday is to have NONE. I want sugar to stop being a habit, and go back to a once-every-so-often-treat like it should.

Oh and by the way, from cutting back a lot the past couple weeks, I've lost two pounds. My weight hasn't changed in nearly two months, and now suddenly I'm down two. Gotta say that's inspiring.

 

[PTree15]

Oasis, that's fabulous on all counts. Keep up the awesome work.
Kicking salt and sugar can be so tough! I'm pretty good with salt, but my sweet tooth is still in gear. I have cut way back overall, but I rarely go a week without something sweet or chocolatey. I like the idea of your challenge. My sister and I also cheer each other on. We check in every day to record our exercise and whether we ate healthfully the day before. It helps keep me honest and accountable as well. Plus, it motivates me a bit to know that if I don't work out, I'll know she is working out. Our little competitive streak, hahaha.

 

[Oasis]

Hehe, I'm like that too with the competitive streak. When I feel like having pizza for dinner I realize I don't want to have to confess to that on my Facebook fitness group. (which my sister is also a part of)

Also reading that you 'hardly' go as much as a week without something chocolatey or something gave me a guiltier twinge. xD Before this challenge, I not only couldn't go a day without, but I was struggling to keep it down to ONE per day, heh. Next time I find myself reaching for something, I'll remember those words!

 

[PTree15]

Hehe, I'm like that too with the competitive streak. When I feel like having pizza for dinner I realize I don't want to have to confess to that on my Facebook fitness group. (which my sister is also a part of)

Also reading that you 'hardly' go as much as a week without something chocolatey or something gave me a guiltier twinge. xD Before this challenge, I not only couldn't go a day without, but I was struggling to keep it down to ONE per day, heh. Next time I find myself reaching for something, I'll remember those words!

Lol, I hear you. I was the same, having several treats a week, and sometimes more than one a day. Sometimes, all I need is a bite or two to satisfy the craving now, so that's a big improvement. I grew up in a large family as a member of the "clean plate" club. I used to eat so fast because I wanted seconds even if I wasn't really hungry for them. I think because we had financial struggles growing up, I was afraid I'd go hungry or something. I have to keep telling myself that the treats will still be there when I want them and that I don't have to eat them all at once.

 

[Oasis]

Oh wow, that sounds intense, feeling like you needed to worry about such things at a young age like that. But it sounds like you were able to have a full stomach despite that, so that's good. Also hearing that you managed to cut back gives me hope, haha.

I'm now on day three of my little challenge! Monday was super hard. I felt a huge craving after lunch, and it didn't matter how much water I drank, or what I did to distract myself (reading, watching a show) it didn't stop until I went to bed. At one point I even had the oven pre-heating to bake cookies before I realized what I was doing.
Yesterday I got a chocolate craving after lunch, (I'm beginning to realize the main time of day when I'd have treats) but it went away pretty quickly. I realized suddenly hours later that I didn't think about sweets again for most of the day.
Today so far so good. I work the afternoon shift today at work, so that'll help too. I won't pack any treats, therefore I literally won't be able to have any.

To be honest though, I've plotted baking cookies this weekend ('Turtle' cookies from my favourite blog Oh She Glows. They look so good!) I'll just make sure I share, haha.

 

[PTree15]

That is great, Oasis! I don't blame you for plotting for the weekend, haha. Total deprivation never works for me (aside from a few foods I had to eliminate to cut down on the cravings, like potato chips, lol). Once a week is a good plan. It's also good that you are recognizing when the cravings occur. That's half the battle. I know when I engage in mindless eating, the pounds start piling up. Keep up the awesome work!

 

[Kasandra]

30 day yoga challenge started - day #5 now
lots of meditation

 

[PTree15]

Well, February is on its last legs, so I thought I would check in progress-wise. I did not lose any weight this month, but when I look I back, I consider it a victory. I had a couple of big celebrations (weddings), so lots of extra calories were consumed. That said, I didn't gain, I think, because I was pretty good with exercise. I have always had trouble keeping weight off after I lose it, and I think this is the longest I've gone in maintaining (since late November, I think). My mindset really has changed for the better. I have stopped rewarding myself with food and looking at the way I eat as a "diet" with some sort of "end" in sight. It's how I need to eat to stay healthy. This is a big victory in my eyes. I will continue to strive to dump those last few pounds, though, being such a goal-oriented girl. On to March.

Hope everyone had a fab Feb.

 

[Oasis]

That's really awesome, PTree! That mindset can be so difficult to obtain, but once you do, you know that the weight loss is going to be permanent. It's so true, too. When you make a change that's only temporary, then the results will only be temporary too.
I would do the same, where I'd 'reward' myself with food too, and have since learned that's not a healthy relationship with food. Now I reward myself with other things, like new clothes or a new CD or something.

As for me, I'm really proud of myself this month too. I've finally managed to reduce my sugar intake significantly. These last two days of my five-day no sugar challenge were so easy. I totally didn't think about sugary things at all for the past two days, so I think now I can be in control of myself when I'm 'allowed' to have it again tomorrow.
My endurance for my running has increased hugely. I can run further in the mornings now, and a 7km run isn't a 'good day' anymore, it's something I can do any day now, which is so awesome. Ready for more progress in March!

 

[PTree15]

Way to go, Oasis! My rewards are music and clothes, too, or a massage. I love getting massages!