Spring Into Action 12wk Challenge

[Phteven]

For thighs I like lunges and squats preferably with weights.
Also running and cycling.
I don't aim to lose weight off my thighs and arse but merely to get them toned. Nothing will make my arse smaller but lunges keeps it better shaped.
Beyonce and Jo Lo both have huge thighs and it doesn't make them un-sexy.

Losing weight off areas is a myth - nothing will give you great abs or skinny thighs if you don't lose weight all over.

[~ Zarava Flutterby ~]

Did my walk this morning, just the girls & I (so basically add 30kg for pushing the kids) and my runkeeper stats were as follows:
3.01km - 29min 10sec - average of 9m 42s per km.
Says roughly 279 calories burnt but that doesn't take into account pushing kids

Very please with my effort, my calves were burning at the start and i onyl stopped once for a drink and that was to pick up a footy that had gone over the kinder fence
Having marinated lamb chops (grilled) with salad or veggies and making an effort NO SOFT DRINK!

Lunch is likely going to be Sandwich (light rye) with lettuce, cheese, tomato, gherkins & cucumber - and nibble on the kids fruit.

Also i'm going to see if i can borrow a pedometer from HotI and see just how many steps a day i take chasing my ferals and on our walking days.

I'd love to loose off my butt & thighs, no matter how much weight i loose i always have those, toning wou,ld be good but not sure i want them to stand out any more

[~ Zarava Flutterby ~]

Had my salad sandwich, tea was marinated lamb chops & mango salad
I also did my 15min on the bike, let's hope it all pays off


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- Sent from my iPhone, more than likely while I should be doing something else!

[Sunny Love]

Zarava, your dinner sounds absolutely delish!
The scales have punished me, big time Either my first weigh in was grossly wrong, or i've gained, wait for it....10kgs! I had to keep double checking the numbers, but sadly it must be true :'( I kinda feel like i've blown my chance of getting close to my goal weight now.

[minimatron]

HHHmmmmm. Well that was crap, but what do I expect? My motivation is gone and subsequently I have popped on some weight. I have gained 800gms and am now 71.2kgs.... more than what I was when I started this challenge What can I do to motivate myself? Im a little flat at the moment, I have been sick for a month, the baby doesnt sleep so I am tired and now shes been diagnosed with hand foot and mouth... so to get over that!

Anyway, I would have to say eating is fine. I eat well. Exercise is and always has been my downfall. I need to do something quick and realistic with 3 chilren 4 and under. I have an exercise bike. Walking with them is probably out..... and waiting for dh to come home sometimes isnt an option coz I am stuffed by then. I need to make a short routine for me to do at home. Any suggestions? Maybe 10 minutes bike, lunges, squats....

Good luck everyone for today.

[~ Zarava Flutterby ~]

hun, when everyone is sick it's so hard to stay on top of it.
I find walking works best for me but i only have 2 LO's to deal with and even then they can get annoying
Can you give yourself 15min on the exercise bike?
Last night i put DD2 to bed then disapeared upstairs while DP cuddled with DD1 and did 15min, hopefulyl eventually i can extend the time but for now even on low setting that was enough

Well according to my scales i have lost 2.1kg down to 93.4?????????????????
I think the big difference is that it's morning and i did it in just undies and bra rather than fully clothed in the arvo.
Today we are cleaning out what we are hoping will become our chicken ched so a bit of lifting is going to be happening and walking up and down a hill (or i will cheat and tow the trailer down on the bike)
Will aim for 15min on the bike again tonight then it's walk day again tomorrow

[Teeki]

Sunny, don't be too hard on yourself hun. I'd really be questioning how well your scales are working with a difference like that, mine really play up when the battery's getting flat. And even if it does mean you're further from your goal weight, you're still here working towards it. You'll get there

Minimatron, hope your DD is feeling better soon. It's hard when you get barely a minute to yourself - I reckon you're doing great, I don't have three young kids and I still find it hard. Do you have a smart phone? You can download short workouts so that when they're napping or playing you can take 5-10 minutes to work on your abs, legs, arms or whatever. In any case it's not a big gain.

ZF, sounds like you're doing fantastically! Before you know it you'll be totally owning that bike lol.

AFM, today's weigh-in was good. 77kgs, so 1kg down from last week, but only 400g down from starting weight. I'm still happy with a kilo in a week though. Got another nice long walk to the bank planned today and a bit of packing, so I reckon I'll be on the move all day.

Have a great day everyone!

[Cherished]

moved list

[Manhattan]

1.2 kilos down this week, yeah!

Great work on losing 2.1 ZF, keep it up

Minimatron, hugs hun Sounds like u have a lot on your plate right now. My suggestion would be to jump on your bike any chance you get.

Sunny, a 10 kg gain, what the? Even though your goal may be further away, you can still get there

Can't wait to see all of today's check ins

[berrme]

Weighed in at 74kg this morning, that is a loss of 1.4kg. Plus another 2cm off my waist, 2cm off my hips and 1cm off my bum. Woohoo!
DS2 is better now and I am feeling much better, but I think I have laryngitis as my voice is all funny and I have a weird dry stunted cough. So no gym until at least tomorrow. Went pretty hard on the exercise bike yesterday arv and burnt 320 calories, will try to do that again today plus some squats etc.

ZF, that is great loss, don't question it. When you ride your bike it is good to do interval training... do 3 minutes at your comfortable pace, then 1 minute on a harder resistance/ faster pace to really get your HR going. Then back to comfy pace to recover, then faster again etc. Burns more calories and helps with cardio fitness. If you keep riding every couple of days it will get easier fairly quickly.

Minimatron, I feel your pain with fitting exercise in around your kids. Can you get in more exercise that is like playing with the kids? When I did mum exercise classes we did everything in the trainers yard while the kids played. Things like wakling on all fours across the yard, or hopping/jumping across the yard really gets your HR going. You can race the kids doing any of these things and wear them out too. Put on some music and do some silly dancing. Do the monkey bars at the park, jump on the trampoline (if you have one).
If you use your bike you can do like a circuit... 5mins on the bike then 20 squats, 20 situps, 20 pushups (or any exercises you want to do). Repeat it all 3 or 4 times. I find it makes the time go faster if you aren't just doing 1 thing for 15-20 minutes. Step ups and jumping chins (like a chin up but your feet are on the ground so you can jump yourself up as well as using your arms to pull up) are a really good workout that are pretty easy to do at home too. HTH

[Cherished]

Sunny my beautiful friend WTF 10kg's surely that can't be right?!? Alas, don't give up! I know you've had a hard time with loss of a good friend, don’t be too hard on yourself We are all here to help you succeed.

ZF Yearrhhhaaaaaa 2.1kgs AMAZING effort!! And mango salad YUM.... Can't wait to hear how you get on today with check in! I have a pedometer; I might chuck it on today also and see how many steps I am taking these days. I had an office job when I was using it and it was really hard to get the steps up to 12000. Personally I don’t think there is anything wrong with pancakes, fruit and a bit of cream.

Onyx, thanks for the encouragement, I've done well 2 days in a row now so I think I've found my groove (thank God)! Soups really are fantastic when losing weight, coming into summer I find I need thicker ones like pumpkin that I can eat luke warm instead of piping hot watery ones.

sahbear the best I've looked and felt was when I did a combo of cardio and weights. Loooove weights! I’ve got a full home gym of weights! Resistance training is a must to boost your metabolism so that you are burning more calories at rest and therefore lose weight faster. Not to mention it's so good for your bones and everything else like getting 'shape' How did you and you dh go starting on Monday?

MM gosh I have loads of vego recipes and I know Krysalys and Audux do to. For lunch I LOVE couscous salad, I cook the couscous with lemon juice for tang and add whatever veg/salad I have in the fridge. Bean wraps with some spices and a 'little' bit of cheese on top grilled in the over with a blog of sour cream and salad. Both are really quick to make. Audax already mentioned dips. Make them up with whatever veg and eat them with veg sticks or corn thins etc. So crapola to hear you have had a gain this week. Being unwell is a real setback. I feel like that too with my knee and ds still wakes up lots during the night so I’m tired and unable to move properly. We can only do what we can but don’t give up! Rome wasn’t built in a day

Audax 66 WOOHOO and how sweet are you remembering ds's birthday! And happy birthday to you too! Of course all legends are born in September

berrme how is everything on the health front? Sounds like you are doing really well considering and woop woop A LOSS for you too

Krysalyss how are you feeling? I'm sure you will record a loss because you are a legend!

Kaytee I think house work totally counts. Planning is the key, I need to get more organised too!

DT I'm confused about the mid-autum festival, (aren’t' we in Spring)? where do you live girl? I totally hear you on the clothes, fortunately for me I'm on the way down and it felt good to put all the pregnancy clothes away. You'll get to do the reverse very soon and you'll be loving it instead!

Manhattan very impressive about your no lollies and choc and walking everyday Forget the photos, even when I look good I can still think that some photos are yuck! Stay positive hon you've had a great loss this week YAY

familyof3 enjoy the time with bub sleeping on you. My little munchkin goes to sleep at his nap time and at night cuddling me and I treasure it. Hey you can always use that time to refocus, meditate, visualise your 'new body'. Doing visualising is really important and your subconscious mind is what is really creating your reality anyway.

Mak .2kg loss I don't cut out carbs at all but I try to limit portion sizes at all meals.

Rhi hope you have a better week

AFM no change this week which is better than a gain I feel like I'm on track, you know what I mean when I say that something has shifted gear in your head? Yep I'm motivated and have been on track 2 days in a row. Yeah that sounds pretty lame really LOL But next week I will have a LOSS to record YAY

[Just Me]

Sunny - huge If you have gained that much, then it might just be fluid retention which can be related to getting sick or AF arriving or about to arrive. Lots of things can cause a gain. Don't lose hope yet! You never know what might happen this week. A gain is a bit deflating but you can't change it. Don't let it stop you though

Minimatron - I know about finding time to excercise with kids. It is so tough! That is what I am working on this week, making time to excercise. I am going to fit it in twice on a weekday before next Thursday. I have been trying to set myself mini goals each week because otherwise it seems so huge and overwhelming.

ZF and KT - Yay for your loses!!!

AFM - I lost 1.2kg this week. I took all my measurements when I started also and out of curiosity took them again - I lost 4cm off my waist! And 5.5cm off my boobs. I am pretty amazed that it only took two weeks to do that. I think maybe I was retaining a lot of fluid from being sick when I started. I have made changes but nothing that significant. I am feeling better about the way I am eating and I feel like I am satisfying the cravings that my body has had for months now that I haven't been able to satisfy with chocolate. Now I just have to keep up the motivation.

[Teeki]

AFM no change this week which is better than a gain I feel like I'm on track, you know what I mean when I say that something has shifted gear in your head? Yep I'm motivated and have been on track 2 days in a row. Yeah that sounds pretty lame really LOL But next week I will have a LOSS to record YAY

Cherished, I totally get what you mean about getting into your groove. I think my first week when I gained I wasn't in the right head space, but this last week I've been much more motivated. Reading about you guys doing so well and losing great numbers has definitely helped

Also, I slipped my check in just above your list post, I think it got missed

I love the visualisation idea. I keep picturing myself how I'd like to look at Christmas, and how I'd like to be fit, healthy and looking great when DD is running around.

Hooray for all the losses this week! Sounds like everyone's doing well

[RhiChiChi]

Hi all,

No time for persies, but I am back to where I started with the crap week, now behind me.

BBL

[krysalyss]

Hi guys. Well for me I haven't weighed in yet. Will do it tomorrow morning. I expect a gain this week as I have been a bit off with this ear infection and AF arrived today. Which is great news actually because I am going back on the pill and have been waiting (I have shocking skin at the moment and it really hurts!). So this dreaded ear is still sore but I managed to get to the gym yesterday with the help of some panadol. Had big arguments with DS this morning so missed this mornings session but will make it up at lunchtime.
Congratulations to everyone who recorded a loss. That is awesome!
Sunny - there is just no no way you have put on 10kgs. Surely it is the scales issue. I have a problem with mine if there aren't in exactly the same spot each week. It has to be something like that or the batteries. Or as you said maybe you read it wrong the first time, in which case you haven't put on anything this week (certainly not 10kgs!). A lot of us won't reach our goals during this challenge but we will be well on our way and so will you.

[Butterfly Dawn]

66kg
Hope everybody else has a better weigh in

[krysalyss]

I just got in to a futsal team! Yay! Ok I am going now

[Mak]

Well done everyone - I think hanging in here despite struggling is a good thing and will help in the end!!!! Cherished you are doing an awesome job with the updates/weigh ins.....
AFM - stable which is a relief considering I didn't get much exercise done. Have run about mopping/sweeping and cleaning for the last 2 hours or so and off to the shops. Looking forward to the weekend!