19 posts tagged “fitness”
Round 2 starts on Monday, May 12th....so you have a couple of days left to join up! Sunday is the very last day to request to join.
All the info is here.
Don't miss out!!! :)
Right after Christmas and up through the spring months are when most people get serious about a workout program or just getting out and active. Why? For summer, of course. ( I hate saying bikini season....but ya....it's usually all about that dreaded bathing suit season....!!)
For those who have been participating in the Vox Fitness Challenge: round one, we have been working for the past 12 weeks and got some mo going. We challenged ourselves to get up and get moving for 12 weeks and we made it! woot! :)
Now, for some of us, we want to keep going and are going to keep going with the Vox Fitness Challenge: round two! And we would like to invite more people to join us!!!
The tentative start date for round two is Monday, May 5th.....but we may move that official start date to Monday, May 12th.
The Vox Fitness Challenge is a 12 week challenge for anyone who wants to get in shape and wants some virtual workout buddies. This is also for anyone on a current program who wants some virtual workout buddies. There is no set curriculum or program that anyone has to follow as far as diet and exercise....and there is not set fitness level of the group. (we are all over the place!) What you do as far as diet and exercise is totally up to you...as along as it encompasses health and wellness.
The point of the challenge group is really two-fold:
1. To challenge people to try and stay on a course of being active and healthy for 12 weeks.....and see if you can surprise yourself with what you can accomplish if you stay the course. For most people in round one, just staying the course for 12 weeks was the biggest source of pride. Even if you aren't working out big, just staying consistent is huge and is also a huge step towards having future successes since most people cannot stay consistent...and lack of consistency is the biggest cause of people not getting in shape.
2. To have a place of support where you can have people cheer you on and lift you up.....because you don't have to do all this alone!
The only real stipulations of the 12 week group challenge are:
1. You report in your opening stats (see more info here)
2. You report in your ending stats (see more info here)
3. You report in with an update a minimum of once a week.
* It is here that some people had some challenges because they forgot or got busy. This is a stipulation not meant to hem anyone in or to be too stringent. But if you are joining because you want support in your workout journey, then checking in once a week shouldn't be too much to ask? As well, when you don't check in regularly, then its easy to have "out of sight, out of mind" syndrome and totally fall off the wagon...which is what we want to help you not to do. The point here is to have an active, supportive group....not just a group with a big membership where no one posts or is there offering support to each other.
4. You are positive and non-judgemental towards your fellow group members (bonus points if you add fun to the group! :))
5. You "sign" a commitment contract, to yourself, for the 12 week challenge
So, if your interest is peaked, please read up on the challenge via the links provided at the top. If you have any questions, please let me know! And after you read up and you are game to sign up for round two, please definitely let me know asap! :)
(p.s. all round one participants please make sure to let me know if you plan to participate in round two, if you have not done so already! thanks! :))
The 12 week Vox Fitness Challenge is wrapping up it's 12th and final week! Congratulations to everyone who participated! woot! :)
Much speculation has surrounded the topic about what is next and many people have expressed interest in doing another 12 week challenge to keep the momentum going! I think this is a grande idea!
Sooooooo, we are going to be starting another 12 week challenge on Monday, May 5th.
This time around, things will be the same as the original deal.....but with a couple of changes.
The new and improved Vox Fitness Challenge (read carefully!):
1. This challenge is open to everyone on Vox, regardless of whether or not you participated in round one. If you are a current participant of the round one challenge, please let me know if you plan on continuing or not.
Please don't feel obligated to continue on or join up. The challenge is totally voluntary for those who are seriously interested in taking it on.
2. On May 5th, you must report your starting point stat for one or all of the following:
- weight
- % body fat
- body measurements (thigh, hips, waist, chest, bicep)
- clothing size
3. Your first post should include, in addition to your starting stat(s), a little about yourself, what you plan on doing for the challenge, and what you hope to accomplish.
4. What you do for the challenge is pretty much up to each individual as we all have different goals, abilities, and desires. Just as long as your plan of action revolves around activity (exercise), health, and wellness. Starving yourself and/or using strange diets is really not a long term plan for success.
The first challenge was a big mix of different people doing different things and everyone was starting out from somewhere different. Don't feel shy because you may not be exercising or doing anything now. The whole point of the challenge is to just start!!! :) And if you are just starting, perhaps try picking up Bob Greene's Best Life Diet. It's a great way to get started, gradually, for long term health and wellness. Bob's vision is to get everyone making lifestyle changes that last a lifetime.
5. At the end of the 12 weeks, you must report in your ending stat(s) as per above.
6. You must post a minimum of once a week to the Vox Fitness Challenge group with a report of how things are going. It doesn't have to be long or verbose.....just a simple update is fine. The whole point of the group is support....so a quickie once a week should not be a challenge even for the busy people. Don't join the group if you don't plan on participating.
7. Please follow the links above and read all the info that was posted for the first challenge. The same things apply for the second challenge and I don't feel like posting it a second time. Please take the time and read up.
8. Everyone who participates in round 2 must "sign" a commitment contract for the challenge. This is a commitment mainly to yourself that you still stay commited for the 12 weeks. The one thing that was highlighted in the first challenge was just staying the course, for 12 weeks, seemed to the hardest challenge. And if you want to move forward in getting in shape, staying the course is what needs to happen!
So, read up, think about it, and let me know if you are seriously interested in joining the second challenge. If you are not part of round one, you will not be able to view the group as its a private group. I will be inviting and adding all the new people, for round two, once round one is finished and wrapped up.
If you are seriously interested or have any questions, please let me know via a comment below or via PM.
Good health, love, and blessings,
Dee
I know you guys already know this and this isn't news.
Working out and getting in shape is hard enough.....but with nature throwing in that monthly whammy for women, guys, you should not be complaining much about how hard your workouts are. Try having extra muscle cramping, bloating, fatigue, and sometimes nausea for about 1.5 weeks out of EVERY month on top of all the other stuff. (for some women this can be 2 weeks...which would make it occuring 50% of the time) As well, the sudden loss of iron also means we have less energy during this time, regardless of how well we can try to "gut" it out.
The muscle cramping is the worst. I don't know how bad other women get it but I get bad cramps that extend beyond my abdomen to include all the way down my legs, especially my thighs (front and back). And for the record, guys, if you have ever played Squash and ended up with "squash-butt"....that is the closest thing I can equate for you as to how it feels to have monthly cramps, although cramps can be much worse. (and if you have ever had "squash-butt", you know that ain't fun)
Getting the motivation to get up off your ass to workout is hard most some days.....but is just torture during those 1.5-2 weeks per month when you would rather just stay curled up under the covers in an advil-induced stupor.
I have forced myself, the last 2 days, to get up and out for some treks to get some exercise and burn some calories. It just sucks because I don't have the same energy that I normally do and my muscles are extra tight and sore.
Today, I was going to go for a trek across the bridge and up the hill to the bookstore (need something new to read) but I am not sure now. From the trek, I would burn around 600 calories....but I just might just forgo that and just go down to the gym to stretch, do a few weights, and just whine a lot. Hmmmm.....decisions, decisions......
This past week I worked out for the first time, in a long while, with my start on February 4th for the 12 week Vox Fitness Challenge. (I also worked out for the 2nd, 3rd, 4th, and 5th time, too!)
As I posted to the Fitness Challenge Group, I am taking baby steps forward due to my bad back....so this first week, on the Challenge, was nothing major but just getting back walking on the treadmill. Just being careful with myself is my plan for the first week or 2...because its not worth straining my back and then getting sidelined.
And I remember as I worked out on my first day (Tuesday), I was thinking that the extra activity would earn me some extra calories in the eating department. Wrong.
As those in the Fitness Challenge Group are aware, I am using the My Food Diary website to track my eating habits and my activity so I can track my consumed calories vs burned calories. I have used this site before and its great to be able to plug in all the food I ate (and how much) and what activities I did (and for how long)....and have the site do all the calculations automatically. I can track calories consumed, calories burned, have my food broken down by fats, carbs, proteins, sugars, nutrients, and also keep track of my body's progress. It also keeps a running tally each day and lets me know how many calories I have left, that day, if I want to keep on track for losing 1 pound a week (which is healthy). All this for $9 a month! I found it helpful, when I used this a few years aog, to be able to get a better feel for making sure I am not consuming more calories than I am burning....and that I am keeping certain things to a minimim like saturated fats and sodium.
The basic concept of weight loss is to burn more calories than we consume. If we burn around the same as we consume, or we just stick with the basic caloric needs of our body (there is a basic caloric requirement) we maintain our weight. If we consume more calories than we burn...then over time, we will gain weight. Each person's caloric needs are different and what that is, for you, depends on your basal metablic rate (metabolism)...which is dependent on your age, gender, size, genes, muscle mass, and activity level. We all need to intake a minimum amount of calories just to survive as different parts, of our bodies, like our brain, need to be fed a minimum caloric intake so that our body runs efficiently. (that's why we get light headed when we are really hungry)
Sidenote: If our bodies do not receive enough calories then our body "rations" the calories received to different parts of our body based on priority sequencing, just like the Starship Enterprise when it gets blasted too hard and eventually goes down to just enough power to maintain life support but no other functions. Without enough calories, our bodies cannot run at peak efficiency and that it why our body, in this state, will also start stockpiling up some things if it can - things it would normally burn or flush out. When there are not enough calories to go around, the last thing your body is doing is fat burning as its in survival mode. That is why starving yourself is not the way to lose weight. Not getting enough calories, including, yes, enough fat, over a long period of time will actually start causing damage to your vital organs. Just as taking in way too many calories and fat is bad for your health, so is not taking in enough. This is also another reason why the 6 mini-meals a day way of eating is so good for your body to work at peak efficiency. Anyhoo...I think I am digressing from what I started this post to be about...LOL....
As I am teaching myself, with My Food Diary, to eat more within my caloric needs, I am starting to look at this all a totally different way. I have also been enlightened to things I had made myself blind to.
Remember that first thought I had on my first day of working out? The one that I thought I would be getting to eat more because I was working out and burning more calories than usual?
aha moment #1
Eating healthy does not always equal eating for weight loss.
No, I am not suggesting that unhealthy eating supports weight loss better....but simply eating healthy things does not guarantee weight loss. Take me, for example:
I do not eat crap and prefer real food over processed foods.
I avoid wheat and eat whole grains.
I eat a maximum of 2 slices of bread per day. (either Coarse Rye or Ezekiel)
I don't consume much dairy (I avoid cow dairy but I do eat some goat dairy items.)
I eat a lot of "organic".
I love eating fish.
I love eating meat.
I sometimes eat tofu.
I don't use much fat/oil in my cooking...and if I do, I use a little olive oil or butter.
I rarely ever eat greasy, fried food.
I avoid refined sugar and rarely drink soda pop.
I eat fruit and vegetables every day.
I occasionally eat starchy carbs. (rarely potatoes...usually rice)
I rarely eat fast food or junk food.
I don't smoke.
I don't drink much alcohol.
I rarely drink coffee.
I drink 2.5 - 4 litres of water every day.
BUT when I started charting my eating habits on My Food Diary, I discovered that I was eating WAY, WAY over my limit for calories....and I was still hungry some days (without even working out)!!! My jaw dropped when I realized what I had been doing. I had fooled myself into thinking that simply eating healthy is enough.
Luckily all I had to do was get creative with some tweaking and strategizing.
aha moment #2
Eating within your caloric range is just like a math challenge or a jigsaw puzzle. You have to put together the pieces so they fit and/or add up correctly.
Tracking calories consumed vs calories burned ends up making my eating decisions more like a math challenge....which I have to admit can be a pain but also kind of fun. I like getting creative in the kitchen and with having developed dairy/wheat allergies, I am already used to reworking recipes. My Food Dairy takes all my guess work out so I can see what works and what doesn't work. Its like a math problem or even a jigsaw puzzle. I am always on the prowl: How can I put together healthy, tasty meals that fill me up and are also within my caloric allowance so I can lose weight? Sometimes its easy......and sometimes I need to get creative depending on if I am bored with the usual or want something new and/or different.
I know that counting calories gets a bad rap....and can be considered anal for a lot of people. But if you are habitually eating too many calories that don't provide you with enough substance which can sometimes leave you feeling hungry.....then you have to relearn how to feed yourself so that you are getting filled up with the right amount of calories. The math of it sucks and it can be easy, with a bad attitude, to think counting calories takes the enjoyment out of eating....but I think that if we are looking to lose weight, we have already acknowledged that the "party" has gone awry!!
Counting calories is not sacrifice...nor is it being exiled to the land of celery sticks and tasteless meals.
What is needed are different ways of looking at this.
1. Changing eating habits is about a lifestyle change vs a limited time diet.
The focus should be on discovering ways to eat better....but with variety and taste so you can change the way you live your life from this point forward and not just have this be something you endure for a period of time. A lifestyle change will only stick long term if you can find ways to make it enjoyable. And a lifestyle change is what is needed to maintain your body after you finally find youself at the body size/shape/weight you desire. Yo-yo-ing is what happens when eating habits are changed just long enough to lose the weight.....but then regular eating habits resume after the weight is lost. Its the old eating habits that got you into trouble in the first place....so going back to those eating habits will only get you back in trouble!
Doing what you have always done....will always give you what you always have gotten!
2. If nothing changes, nothing changes.
Remember....the defintion of insanity is doing the same things over and over again but expecting different results.
3. Everything in moderation
Too often we feel that, to lose weight, we have to cut certain things out, wave bye-bye, and never to eat them again. Such things are not necessarily true.
In the book, French Women Don't Get Fat, Mireille Guiliano talks about how North Americans haven't learned the art of balance. Mireille goes on to say that you can eat the things you love but you must learn not to make the exceptions the rule. Treats are ok....but not for everyday.....because then its not a treat. A treat should be special.......and should be enjoyed not snarfled down quickly. I learned a lot, in this book, about adopting the right attitude.
Mireille also talks about having variety on our plates and for our meals. She cannot understand the North American way of eating with just one or 2 items for a meal because that is one of the easiest ways to overeat. If you eat one or 2 items, you will, no doubt, in order to fill up, eat a lot of one or both of those items. A good example of this is pasta. How often, as North Americans, do we eat a big dish of pasta for our meal? I think I finally have a better grasp of why so many French meals involve many courses of small food servings......it's for taste and variety. Our mouths get bored with just one taste....which is why after a big bowl of pasta we may be full...but our mouths crave something more.
Pasta gets a bad rap, in North America, because its high calorie, high glucemic, and high in carbs.....all bad for weight loss! Pasta is only bad if you laden it with heavy sauces and/or eat huge bowls of it! The key is moderation. Pasta is great and ok to eat....but as a small side-dish so you get the taste but not a massive amount of calories. I did this the other day with fresh gnocchi which I tossed with pesto and served along-side some lemon-garlic broiled cod and a whole bunch of veggies. That was a 468 (believe it or not!) calorie meal (for my portion....hubby's was more because he is bigger!) that left me feeling quite satisfied and like I had eaten decadently (due to the pesto sauced gnocchi).
The key is learning to portion properly and to eat a variety of things to fill you up.
Ok...
Now while I said pasta is not bad and that we don't necessarily have to give up certain foods in own diet, I know for me, there is still one thing that I love.....that I am not able to eat right now because its just too high in calories.....and that is my favourite macaroni & cheese! (and this is already a rework of a classic....but still high calorically....and so nummilicious!!)
But I don't have to mourn it forever.
aha moment #3
If you want to eat higher caloric food/meals.....then earn it by burning more calories daily.
This is like realizing you are short on cash and going to get some more money....but this is easier because its easier to burn more calories daily than it is to sometimes come up with the cash.
I have to admit that I was surprised, when I logged my first workout to My Food Diary, on Tuesday to discover that I had not burned a whole lot of calories in my 55 minutes briskly walking on the treadmill. I had only burned 212 calories. And it was a sad moment, indeed, when I realized that with my regular eating habits I was eating way too many calories......even if I calculated in the 212 I burned!!! Zoiks!!
On Wednesday, I logged in my second workout and discovered that even though I had worked a little harder, I still hadn't burned many more calories, much to my disappointment. I realized that this was going to take some time to build up to as I build up my fitness level and my muscle mass. (Slasher usually burns at least 700-800 calories just on the elliptical....but then again, he is going mach 12! LOL!) Later on Wednesday, I went out on a little walking trek to the public market and a couple of other places to get a bunch of groceries and things we needed. Altogether it probably took me around about an hour. When I got home, I logged my trek on My Food Dairy (its great because it has stuff like this as options because walking and hauling groceries burns calories!). I factored in the time it took to walk to different places, the steepness of the terrain (some up and down parts around here) and also the load I was hauling back from the stores (resistance training!)......and was pleased to discover that I had burned, on my trek, about the same amount of calories that I had burned on the treadmill that morning! By going out and doing something normal, I had doubled my calories burned that day! In total, I burned almost 500 calories that day! Yay for me!
On Thursday, I took a page from Wednesday and I went for another walking trek which earned me more calories...and for a second day, I burned close to 500 calories in one day!
And on Sunday, I did not work out in the gym. I had worked out for 5 days straight and my legs were feeling a bit tired so I decided to take a day off from the going down to the gym. As it was a nice day and as we needed some groceries (especially more fruit and veggies)...and that hubby wanted to break in his new runners AND test out his new Nike +, we decided to walk over the bridge to the public market, do our shopping, then walk back and go to the grocery store for the few items that we can't get at the market. We were gone 2 hours and according to his Nike + we walked 6 km (not including walking around the market and the grocery store as he turned off the Nike + while we were shopping). I figured I burned over 600 calories......for going to the market! (LOL...I burned more on my "day off" than I did the days I officially went to the gym!) And that certainly helped me burn off that yummy donair I ate at the market..LOL! :) After the market trek, we had a yummy dinner and I still had calories to spare!
You might be surprised if you open your eyes and see little ways each day that you can burn more calories. Taking the stairs is always the common one. Finding ways to burn more calories, through regular activities, is not hard and is a great option, to remember, if you are feeling forlorn about your food choices! :)
aha moment #4
I can so make this work!
Another great quote that so applies to the journey of working out, getting in shape, and losing weight.
(although somes the "work" of working out, getting shape, and losing weight feels miserable as we are making ourselves strong! LOL! ...but staying out of shape and/or heavy is only going to continue to make us miserable anyway so why not work at changing the situation!)
You just gotta be able to have fun and laugh about it!! :p
This is for the Fitness Challenge Group:
Since most of us are posting our updates to appear only on the Group pages, there are a 2 things to make note of that you may or may not know.
1. If someone is your Vox neighbour, their Group-only posts will not appear in your neighbourhood updates section/list or RSS feed. The reason for that is these posts do not appear on your neighbour's blog page. You have to check the Group pages to see if they have posted. * If you use RSS feed, you can set up a feed for the Group and you will then get Group updates appearing in your RSS Feed.
2. Group posts appear in order of when they were last udpated and not in order of posting date/time. This is unlike our neighbourhood updates list in which our neighbours posts appear chronologically. Whenever someone updates their post that appears in a Group......that post jumps to the top of the line in that Group. This is good to know so that you don't miss Group posts because you don't look beyond a post you have already read.
I think most of you probably know this stuff but I know there are some new people who this may be news to and its always good to know! :)
