Hey guys,

Please post here how things went for your challenge, and give yourself a reasonable, honest grade on your progress. In a few days we'll have people vote to see who our winners are for the month.

As for myself, I'll have to update in a few days, once I recover from the cruise!

Thanks guys, sorry for the short message.

-Steve

Goals:
Lose 10lbs
Do a 5k
Continue 100 Pushups Challenge
Lift Weights 3x a week


As of yesterday:
8.5lbs lost since 3/30
Did the 5k
Lifting 3x a week
Intentionally abandoned the 100 pushup challenge as it was conflicting with the weight training. I still do pushups, but with lifting 3x a week I was having to sacrifice one for the other. If I did the pushups in the morning, I'd feel it when I lifted. If I did the pushups in the evening, I'd feel the lifting I had done a few hours before. With 1900 calories a day, I was hitting the wall.

It was a good month. I didn't miss any gym workouts, except when I substituted things like a jog/hike outside for elliptical time. I also tried Cage Fitness, which was a great workout but doesn't fit in my budget. viewtopic.php?f=10&t=305

A week ago, I had my bloodwork done after a "Biggest Loser" contest at work, Between Jan 25 and April 22, I had the following changes

Weight -29lbs
Body Fat -3.4%
Waist -5.25"
HDL +14 (that's good)
TRG -23 (that's good)
LDL -16 (that's good)

For lifting, here's where I started on April 12th (when I switched from smith to power cage) and where I will be at tomorrow's session:

Squat 135 -> 225 5x5
Bench 115 -> 150 5x5
Overhead Press 45 -> 95 5x5
Assisted Chinups 110 1x7 -> 90 1x5 (once I hit 1x10, I lower the counter weight and work my way up from 5 reps)
Crunches w/ 20lbs -> 30lbs
Triceps (single dumbbell, overhead extensions) 45 -> 65 5x5
Bicep (concentration) 30 -> ezbar 60 5x5
I also added Walking/Iso lunges with a 45lb dumbbell in each hand.

I'm pleased. I'd like to have seen a bigger loss, but I'm also buying XL shirts and 36" pants now.

Edit: And the pic. A little more arm definition, and a bonus sunburn

Got down to 214.5. It wasn't my goal, but I am excited about this. This is the lowest I've weighed in 7 years!


Only made it to week 6, but that is because I joined a gym and had a few weeks or "first workout blues".


Once is all (that I can remember). I broke down and got some Krystal burgers, but I only ate 2 as opposed to my normal 73. I am not including subway as fast food. Should I be?


Fail, but that's Ok. I adjusted my other calories to allow for this.

Overall, I would rate myself a C against my goals (since I didn't meet any of them), but I would give myself a A for lifestyle changes. I am still doing exactly what I want: changing the way I think about food and exercise to live a healthier lifestyle. Even though I didn't meet all of my goals, I kept a steady pace and worked out 3+ days a week, ate healthy, and even allowed myself some good ol' fashion unhealthy fun! I hope everyone else did the same!

Almost forgot, I'll take a picture tonight and post.

I started out strong and then I fizzled. Along the way, I learned some valuable lessons. I was unable to reach my two big goals, but I tried my best, and that's all I can do. I gained a pound and did not meet my half marathon goals. I finish this term with a C. Next term, I will readjust my goals.

April 5th weight: 172 pounds.
April 12th weight: 170.6 pounds.
April 19th weight: 169.8 pounds.
April 26th weight: 172 pounds
May 3rd weight: 173 pounds

Weight gain for the week: 1 pound.
Total weight gain: 1 pound.

Half Marathon Time Goal: 2:22:30
US Half Marathon Time: 2:22:55
Nashville Rock & Roll Half Marathon: 2:48:45
End Of The Trail Half Marathon: 2:30:50
Missed it by over about 8 minutes, but a huge improvement over the previous half.

Yeah... This challenge didn't work out for me. I was inconsistent, a little too lazy, and stressed out this month which meant I didn't put the work in I needed to.

On the plus side, I managed to keep a lot of the little changes I made during the last challenge. I was very good about eating breakfast and cutting out soda, and my overall eating habits were more healthy. I didn't exercise every day, but I did get it in a few times a week. My weight stayed the same all month.

So while I didn't rise to this challenge, over the past 2 months, I have picked up some positive habits, to the point that my current lifestyle seems far more stable than my previous one.

D for the challenge, C+ for the month as a whole

Here were my goals:

1. Lose at least 5 pounds.
2. Up my workout intensity.
3. Quit smoking.

1: I started at 272, and weighed in yesterday morning at 263. 9 pounds! I give myself an A for this one.
2: I changed my workouts around a bit. I have added a couple of days a week where I am hitting the exercise bike for 7.5 minutes, and then swinging 2 pound Indian clubs for 7.5 minutes. I am still doing strength training three times a week, and I have changed my focus to more full body movements, and less isolation movements. Unfortunately, I had to miss almost a weeks worth of workouts in mid-April due to over doing it and hurting my back. I am healed now, and feeling great. I give myself a B (bonus points for adding days and variety, points off for being stupid!).
3: I have got myself down to part time status. I have pretty much limited it to weekends, with a few here and there during the week. This is much better than the pack and a half that I was smoking, but not quite where I wanted to be. I give myself a C for this one.

It looks like my average for these would be a solid B. Not too bad, but I could have done a lot better.

Well mine went pretty awesome. Much better than March. Getting back to the original goals:

1) Continue the 3 day workout weeks and give it everything I've got during the workouts.
Hit this one pretty bang on. the first half of the month I was still in the kick boxing class, and I definitely gave it everything I had. Then I switched to a regular gym. I've been trying some of the classes that are offered, so I gave it as much as I could, but there was some n00b-ness involved since it was mostly brand new, so I wasn't going as hard as I was at kick boxing (that'll come though... takes a while to figure out where I'm at when I'm trying all new things). But I've managed to go 4 times a week instead of just the 3 (I kept up with the regular 3 during week days, then added a weekend day)

2) Continue to make smart choices when eating out, but allowing one junk meal a week.

Err, not so much. I would say I probably ate out on average 2-4 times a week. If it was for a supper I would say half of the meals were still junky. Still though, those half that weren't so bad, it was a very conscious effort to not eat so bad, and I've been opting for salads instead of fries.

3) Get out and walk more on the off days.

Pretty bang on with this. The dog walking has been hell lately, so I've been going out more and more to try and improve it. Last week I did a 5k with him. Usually 4 nights a week, or more depending on how I feel, I go on a 3.5k walk with him. So lots of walking.

I pretty much rocked it yesterday too. I was on my feet from about 11AM - 9PM, only really stopping to eat. Spent 2 hours cleaning, then dog walk, running around doing some errands (so I guess sitting in the car on the way), walked to the gym, the gym, walked back (it's about a 15 minute walk, and SOOO much harder on the way back), then about an hour at the dog park. Supper was BBQ so lots of standing around for that, and a lot of standing around talking to our neighbours in the evening. Pretty happy with how the day went

The Challenge as a whole, I'm giving myself an A. Couldn't have done a whole lot better than what I did
And now to work on my big plans for next month...

Pretty much rocked this one. I only missed getting up at 6 on 1 workout day and on 1 off day(I did hit snooze once or twice thoughout the whole time tho ) . So missing 2 out of 28 days... I think that's a pretty high success rate.
...and I NEVER missed a SINGLE workout!!! A+


Hmm...here's where it gets weird. I dropped the 6 pounds in the first two weeks...and then I've been fighting with a fluctuating weight the two weeks since.
Start: 215 lb
At 2 weeks: 209
Today: 210.5
Odds are I gained some muscle or something since my eating has been great but IDK. Technically I did lose the 6 pounds so I'd give myself an A+ for that...but I ended 1.5 lbs heavier(but like I said, most likely muscle) sooo....prolly a B+ or an A.


Started out with intervals tues/thurs and then over the last week I switched to Tabata(which is AWESOME!!!). I wanted to puke every time after this. I killed myself on this so A+.

=== Total... I'll give myself an A. I pressed myself to the limit the whole time, got results, and I feel amazing! And...I didn't let myself get discouraged even when the numbers weren't looking favorable!

Month recap:

Run a 5K in 33 minutes.
Official first 5K race (4/11) time was 33:21. Have run two 5Ks in under 33 minutes since, with fastest being 32:35.

Run 10 miles straight (avg. 12:00 pace)
Didn't happen. My "excuse"? Bought VFFs and started minimalist + barefoot running (I do a mixture of both). Farthest run in VFFs was 5 miles in 57:41.

Track everything I eat, even if I don't want to.
Done. I came to terms with fat grams and am now no longer terrified of them. I also came to the revelation that I will only eat guilt-free. I made some delicious baked fries and topped it with some melted Gorgonzola and mozzarella cheese. And I loved every bite of it. That's a win in my book.

Starting weight (4/05): 197.6
Ending weight (05/03): 187.6

I don't like grading myself. I try to live ace every day, and if I come short, that's ok too. Won't beat myself up over it because tomorrow's a brand new day. The awesome part about being in the 180s is that I'm less than 5 pounds away from being at my college graduation weight. Bring it on, May.

My results:

Item #1a - eat breakfast at home, or use containers to bring it in to work, and include a protein shake with that, EVERY DAY. Gotta go with a pretty solid B on this one. I allowed myself to slip on a few occasions, although I *DID* always have my protein shake - and as a result, I made better food choices than the previous month and ate less overall than I had been.


Item #1b - "Eat better overall" This one, I'll give myself an A- on, and I think that's a fair assessment. For whatever reason, I've been doing better without really trying too hard - the proportions have shifted between good and bad foods, and I'm eating less of EVERYTHING because I'm just not as hungry.

Item #2a - For the first week, walk at least 3 times this week, for at least 30 minutes each time. A+ here - I had no problems with this goal at all. Then again, I've always been able to WALK just about as far as anyone might ever ask me to.

Item #2b - During the first week, decide upon and implement no later than the beginning of the second week another 3x/week physical activity plan. Again, I'm going to go with an A+ on this. I ran the Week 4 Day 1 exercise today (in which run time exceeds walk time for the first time in the program - I did 2 3-minute runs and 2 *5*-minute runs today. That sucked...), and never once missed a run. For whatever reason, I've been doing VERY well keeping up with it, and I'm thrilled by that. May take it just a little easier this week, though, depending on how I feel tonight and tomorrow, as my knees have been aching - seems muscular rather than joint-pain, though.

Item #3 - During the first couple of weeks, decide upon and implement no later than the start of the THIRD week (start by the second week if possible) a bodyweight/calisthenics musclebuilding routine to be done three times per week. I'll drop to an A for this, though I'll fudge a little and go to the high end of the A range, just below A+ . I started with the 100-Pushups and 200-Situps programs, but quickly discovered that I cannot yet sustain those programs. Instead, and without missing a workout, I switched to resistance-band upper- and core-body workouts on T/Th/Sa, and am already showing increased strength and muscle definition. Again, I'm VERY pleased with my ability to stick with the workouts, which I have not been able to do prior to this.

Item #4 - I'd like to lose 5+ pounds, and will set a stretch-goal of 10 pounds, over the course of this challenge. Well, I blew right past this one! Final weigh-in was 276, for a total loss of THIRTEEN POUNDS. Which means that I've had an average caloric deficit, between eating less and working out, of 1625 kCal/day. Holy crap!

As I said above, I might have to take a little bit of a break to deal with my abused knees, but I'm hesitant to take TOO much of one - I'd hate to undo the new habits I'm getting into, and I really DO want to finish C25K before I go to L.A. this July. Still, if I overwork my knees, I'll be out for longer, so perhaps I'll walk an hour a day the rest of this week and repeat Week 4 starting next week? I'll give it some thought and decide tomorrow, I guess - and I'll still be doing the T/Th/Sa resistance workouts, too, as there's minimal knee involvement there. Still, I made my goals, earned myself the "Zombies Hate Fast Food" t-shirt from Snorg Tees for blowing past my stretch goal for weight, and got at least a GREAT start towards building new exercise habits.

On the basis of that last part of the last sentence alone, which was my real overall goal for this challenge, I'm going to give myself an A, with a note to work harder on conscious monitoring of food intake for the next Challenge, which I knew was going to be difficult for me. I will also be writing down my blood-sugar numbers and exercises in a notebook next time, for better tracking of the former and a way to look back on the latter and smile (and so I can better track improvement there, as well, I guess).

Bring it, May!

So all-in-all, I'm pretty pleased with this month's efforts. Here's a recap:

Goal 1: Conquer The Hill (a 1 km slog up a 7-9% grade). Finished this one, and have since incorporated it into my regular workouts. Yay!

Goal 2: Get down to 87.5kg. This was a lot trickier than I thought. I managed to get down to 88.2kg though, so I can't complain. I'll probably reach this goal by the end of this week. I've decided to take the nice, slow path to weight loss, and am aiming to get down to 80kg by August 1st.

Goal 3: Run 5km non-stop in my VFFs. I'm pleased to say that I accomplished this on the third go. I'm very pleased as this is the longest I had ever run in my life. I've since increased this to 6.6km on a pretty hilly section of roads/bridges, so I couldn't be happier!

Thanks Steve for setting these challenges, they're just what I needed to get more focussed on my training.

Overall Score: A

Goals:
Diet: Primal Diet, No Cheating : A-. I cheated one day, but it was pre-planned, and I let my roommates know it was going to happen, so I don't count it as a fail in the same sense.
Fitness: A. I missed 1 day due to sickness at the beginning, and 1 day at the end, due to work being bloody crazy. I started it without being able to breathe after, and though my time didn't improve much, my performance did; by the last one I did them all and was still talking. I think I'm going to do it again tomorrow, unless I come up with another workout tomorrow... I'm thinking focusing on pull-ups and running. I enjoy running barefoot, and want to do it more, build up stamina.

Numbers: A+! I didn't look at my numbers all month, but I knew I was doing good by my weight, and I'm back in 34" jeans, which I haven't worn since senior year of high school. I could fit in the 33"s, but my thighs couldn't. I need to find relaxed fit, and try 32"s. Those would be my high-school "fighting weight" jeans...

05/03:
Body Fat %: 14mm, 16.4%
Waist at belly button: 39 in
Waist at pants: 37.25 in
Right Thigh (at crotch, relaxed, propped up): 25.75 in
Right bicep (relaxed, hanging loose): 13 in
Chest Circumference (relaxed, exhaled): 41.5 in
Weight: 210 this morning. Best this past week was 208.

Image comparison:
Here you can see the stomach is a bit smaller, and the traps are a bit larger. Due to having actual stomach muscles, I normally carry my stomach sucked in even with my chest, or a bit more. My progress pics are completely relaxed though...

I kind of failed at this one, I only managed 13 total workouts this month. I had been using Wii SportsActive (which is two days on/one day off) when I started this challenge, and I was under the assumption that I'd keep doing that. However, I realized partway through just how much my knee HATED the workouts. I tried to do the Beginner's Bodyweight, but I had the same kind of issues. Good thing it warmed up enough to start biking again.

Good points:
-I still managed to work out on average 3 times a week, which is far, far better than the 0 times a week I had been doing.
-I've identified a limitation (my knee issues), so now I can focus on either fixing it, or strengthening it. That's going to be part of the next challenge. In the meantime, I can work on building a program around this problem.



Rocked this one-I'm at 699!



This turned out to be easier than I expected. I'd already given up most processed foods, and anything I was craving I could generally find a version of in the natural foods section of my grocery store (gotta love Wegmans). I didn't even have to avoid soda, thanks to the proximity of Canada and their more expensive unsubsidized corn. I had one slip, a package of mini-donuts. I suppose in my defense, I was sick, tired, and grumpy, hungry and having a hard time working up an appetite for any of my usual favorites. Honestly, given my mood, I'm pretty psyched it was only the one slip, and it was only one item.

Couple of things I learned:
-coffee without sugar is actually pretty good (esp. the "normal", not flavored varieties)
-avoiding the artificial sugars made a big difference in my sugar cravings. I still wanted and enjoyed sweet things, but I didn't have the crazy out-of-control must-have-something-sweet-now feelings
-while I think this is healthier long term, it's not going to do anything towards my weight loss goals. I appear to have gained a pound over the last month. Given how many no-calories/low-calorie items I replaces, I really shouldn't be surprised....and honestly, it probably could have been worse. But, that gives me something to work for in the next challenge.

So when's the next one start? I think I have my new goals planned out

1. Run at least 3 times a week. One of the three has to be 10 or more miles.

Almost did this. I missed one run in the first week, but made it up in the second when I did 4 runs. Missed two in the third week (including the long one). Made up the short one in the last week. So overall I missed one long run, getting in 11/12. I'll give myself a B+ for that.

1.b. Run a half-marathon on May 1st.

Did this. Finished in 2 hours 27 minutes. Yay! A for this.

2. Stop drinking soda.

Kicked this one's butt. Not a single drop. A+

3. Be able to do 5 pull-ups.

Nope. I can do 3 pull-ups. I didn't focus on this goal nearly enough. I'm giving myself partial credit for increasing the total number I can do, so I get a C.

I think they average out to about a B+ for the whole challenge.

Well, this month didn't really go as well as last month, and I could make a lot of excuses, but I'd rather just take it as it is and jump back on next month. Overall, I'd give myself a C+.

In other news, I'm now moved into a new house with no black mold and I got to visit California for the first time, so yay there! Anyway, on to the goals:

1. Lose 5-10 pounds (I lost roughly 10 pounds last time, so I think half of that is reasonable)
Well, I lost about 5 pounds (down to 145) and then I weighed in at about 155 today...so I did hit this goal, but overall I went back up. I'm hoping it was due to muscle gain, but my eating did get pretty bad at the end.

2. Be able to do 1 real pull up
Didn't reach this goal this month; however, I did change my routine to make it more difficult and I can now hold myself in a pull-up position for about 3 seconds as opposed to 0 seconds when I started; so I'm excited about the progress there.

3. Workout 3 days a week doing (or trying to do) the Beginner's Body Workout or some variation thereof
Pretty much hit this one. My last few workouts were strictly moving into my new house, but I sweat way more than an actual workout, and for much longer, so I'd give myself a solid A on this one.

4. Limit myself to 1 non water/juice drink per week
Did pretty well with this one until the last week or so...then I had a ton of alcohol. I'd probably give myself a C overall as I really didn't drink very many sugary drinks.

5. Eat breakfast at least 3 times a week (hopefully more)
Feel pretty good about this one, I'd day a B+ or an A. The first week was rough, but I pretty much ate breakfast every weekday, and a few times on weekends. If I can get myself into the habit of doing it on weekends, that will be awesome.

6. Keep track of my food intake and workout routine every day (even if I only write it in the journal every couple of day)
Kinda blew this one at the end as well. I was in Malibu for my fiancé's sister's graduation and I didn't get near my computer very often. If I can find an easier way to track it, then I can do this one much better this next month.

Well, Week 4 Review:
- Work out 5 days a week. (I like this goal because I think I'll probably do 6 days.) Weight train days should be run 1 mile, non-weight days 2 miles.
This week I only made it in 4/5 times. Can't seem to make it happen on the weekends.

- Weight train 3 days a week, MWF. With the routine I've been doing.
2/3.


- And then an increase once a week. Increases on the weights would be more weights (in 5lb's) or more reps (in 5's). Increases on the treadmill would be more speed (the whole time, but these can be by .1's. Ie, from a mile at 6.8 to a mile at 6.9) or more distance (in .25 mile's).
1/1Monday was an awesome 2.5 miles, Thursday was a 8:35 mile.

- Eating goal is to eat on my new plan. This adds 1 egg at pre-lunch (2pm) and moves 1/2PBJAM sandwich to 3:30pm. It also involves more snacks, since I find that I'm starving now. Raisins and pretzels are snacks; chocolate and cookies are not.
Last week I did well on this (this week not so much). Missed the egg one day - off timing! - so 4/5.

So 11/14.

Month in Review:
Week 1: 11/13
Week 2: 9/14
Week 3: 9/14
Week 4: 11/14
Total: 40/55

I think I did an okay job, and I'm okay with myself, but something's still missing... And the weight definitely is NOT coming off, I'm going up.

As of today, I'm officially 87.5kg! Three for three

ok so just back from my holiday and here is my update

1. Eat no bread and rice, eat more protein.
Ok, I definitely didnt eat NO bread and NO rice, but what I did eat was minimal, I certainly ate more protein and fat which was good.
2. Attend 9 classes of team training. 2 per week (I will miss one when I am on holiday in Australia early May) By the end of my TT I would like to be able to achieve at least 10 full pushups.
8/8 with one class left tomorrow which I aim to be at, even though I feel bloody jetlagged and would like to sleep in. I was dreaming thinking I would be able to do 10 pushups - I can do 5-6 but I wouldnt necesarily say my form is that great.
3. Just generally move more. This is a hard one to put a measure on, but I want to walk the dogs more (make them happy) and do the stairs more often at work.
Pretty average on this one but not unhappy with my progress.
4 Weigh in at 57kg by 1 May. If all goes well above, I would like to get my weight down to 57 kg by 1 May when I go on holiday - am today 58.2kg.
Weighed in this morning and am 56.4kg, a gain from last week but I have been on holiday and been drinking lots of cocktails.

Overall, even when I see the above written down I think hmm ok, but not brilliant... but I have to say I just feel better and look better. I bought a new bikini when I was on holiday... now the guys might read this and think yeah whatever, but for the girls, you know how it is, nothing is more depressing than shopping for a bikini when you are not that happy with the bod. I came back from my holiday thinking that all my hard work has paid off, I looked at myself in a mirror and wasnt desperately unhappy with what was looking back. My clothes feel comfortable. These small things are indicative of great change in my life. Yes I am extremely happy and although I grade myself with a B for the goals above, I grade myself an A++ for the attitude adjustment.