Body Composition Challenge Round 2: The Holidays (Page 15)

I just sent someone a request for access to the spreadsheet.
Thanks for refreshing the spreadsheet for this round. 

Back for Round 3 as well. Although many could argue I really didn't participate the first two rounds

No Excuses, lets do this!

You know, it's funny -- I know that you can make resolutions and change you life on any given day, but there's something about the start of a new year that always motivates me.  It's like this clean slate.  Easier to leave the past behind and realize that I can write a new future that has nothing to do with the mistakes I've already made.

Of course, not being constantly surrounded by holiday treats helps, too.  

I've been anally tracking calories since the beginning of the year, and it seems to be working.  The only thing I have to watch out for:  I'm so black/white about things that once I start being like this, it's hard for me to let go and cheat.  I hate the thought of going out to eat (or eating something homemade that someone else cooked!) where I won't get an accurate calorie count so much that it makes me a not-fun person to be around.  I've got to figure out how to do middle ground (something I've never, ever been good at).

I'm excited about this iteration of this challenge!  I've always had good luck with NY resolutions...at least for the first few months...

Here's an article that I came across a year or so ago that TOTALLY made sense to me in this regard and made me realize what I need to do to be successful:

http://www.happiness-project.com/happiness_project/2012/01/trying-to-eat-better-ask-yourself-this-important-question.html

I totally agree with this article!  I've definitely found myself to be an abstainer... I kind of have an addictive personality, so I have a hard time indulging in something I like "just a little".  I'm definitely an all-in or all-out kind of person.  

I've always thought that's something I have to work on, since, like the article mentioned, I get comments from others like "one cookie/beer/french fry/etc won't hurt, live a little".... But then when I get in that mindset, it's a slippery slope since I usually can't stop at just one, especially if it's a thing I really like.  I am much more successful when I think, "don't eat fries, they're not good for you" so then I don't, and it's not an issue.

It's definitely interesting to think of it more as a personality trait rather than something you can work on and change!  It's no wonder I always fail whenever I try to do the moderation thing!

Middle Ground?

 Mid-dle ground? Hmmmm. WHAT could that be?

Actually, I have found that there are some things I can be a moderator on and then there are those "trigger foods" that I know no bounds on. Nuts, bread, pasta, chips.... I can eat until I founder. Chocolate, I can have occasionally and it doesn't call to me. The hard part is finding out what are, and are not the trigger foods.

Did my planned workouts each day from Tuesday on so far this week. Hoping that is puts me  up for a drop in the scale next week (I will take anything). The scale is up/down this week so I am not going to step on it until Monday. Dang thing... And my friend is here to visit as well and she isn't helping. Hoping this leads to good things.

It has been up and down for my hubby as well on trying to lose weight. He has been tracking food since Tuesday with me and last night he made the comment of "I need to shrink my portion sizes" - he has no problems with sweets or junk or anything - he has the problem with not eating regularly and eating huge when he does. We are working on it. Next week he said he will start walking and working out a bit and work into it. Hoping 2012 is the year we get HEALTHY! and stay HEALTHY!

Weigh-in day!  And I'm headed in the right direction.  Under 150 for the second day in a row now.  Feeling confident and motivated (the new year always does this to me).  I've got some big goals this year and I'm ready to take them on!

Decided to add a twist to my weight loss -- monetary incentive.  At 145 pounds, I get to buy myself something to pamper myself with (as well as maybe something cool for the workout room ... to torture myself with).  Once I'm under 140 for at least two weeks, I get a $300 spending spree for running clothes/shoes.  And until then?  No non-essential purchases.  AT ALL.  So ... two birds, one stone ... rein in my spending (2011 was NOT a good year in that respect!) and lose weight.

Laura: Yay for progress! I like your idea of a reward for success. I think I will adopt that. Keep it up and I hope you earn many a pampering items through your challenge.

As for me, I'm at 140.4 as of this morning, which is great. I've regained, lost, regained... this weight is right on target. The most positive sign of progress was my teammate comments on how thing I looked after not seeing me for several weeks. The scale tells me one thing, and my eyes and friends are telling me other things. I'll take the teammate/friend comment as the sure sign of progress!

Hope you all had a great week.

Hey all. I THINK I am down half a pound. My scale is not too accurate so I really only pay attention when it is down a pound or two.

Rewards are great! Mine is I absolutely cannot but ANY clothes of any kind until I am down 2 sizes. It is killing me because the sales are NOW. But I am not going to buy anything that I fully intend will be too big to wear very soon.

G'morning!  I'd just gotten my initial readings (weight, BF%, pictures) 2 days ago when I joined the challenge, so I didn't do any of that today.  In any case, I'm sure it hasn't changed much in 2 days!

Funnily enough, I had actually started lifting weights before the holidays, and though I didn't lose any weight (too many holiday parties!) I have officially lost a pant size!  My jeans were so big on me that I could take them off without undoing them, so I went and bought a new pair the other day, a size smaller!  So I'm really excited to see what my progress will be for this challenge now that I don't have a million holiday parties to go to!

Congratulations, Missy! A size smaller in pants is awesome!!!

A big welcome to the new folks! I know I'm a little late on this, but am just starting to feel like I'm back after the holidays... readjustment is always a little rough for me. Loving the great energy on the thread to meet our goals in 2012!

I just updated the spreadsheet to show my weight gain, which is actually a little bit down from what it was. I fully expect to see a downward trend for this go around though. My motivation is back and I'm loving the new plan, both nutrition and training wise.  I'm actually beginning to feel like a triathlete again!

Thank you for sharing this article, Laura. I am definitely an abstainer, but often feel like I "should" be able to moderate. Many times it is this striving for moderation that leads me back to old eating habits. It's nice to have permission to go with what actually works best for me.

Ok, I'm back from the holidays and ready to make some progress.  I spent my holidays collecting field data for my research and then heading home early after getting a phone call from my wife that our house was broken into two days before x-mas.  Luckily my computer and tri gear (bike, garmin, etc.) were with me and the things taken (tv, wife's computer [she doesn't have irreplaceable data on her computer]) were easily replaced.

As far as fitness, I switched to a strength training regimen after the half marathon in October.  I can't say that I've done much for the last few weeks as I've been working on the house.  I'm trying to focus on getting back into shape and using a sprint tri in May as my benchmark of improvement from last year's effort.  Weighing in this morning for the first time in quite a while put me at 205.5.... yikes.  All that good beer (I love stouts and IPA's) is catching up to me when combined with a not great diet.  I am encouraged that I weigh less than my max weight at this time last year (an improvement!) and that I got into shape in less time last year.  My weight seems to go up every winter (less active) so I am not too concerned, but I would like to make some good habits that carry through the offseason.

Another impetus for getting into shape is that I'll be 30 in two days.

Ok, tangible goals:

Short term:

1) Start swimming, spinning (until it warms up), and running on a regular basis. 

2) Maintain regular strength training regimen

3) Track meals on BT for next month or two

Intermediate Term:

1) Get back to below 200lbs

2) Get a new PR on sprint tri

3) Get dogs back to a running shape

Longer Term (Before end of 2012)

1) Lift a combined 1000lbs (squat, bench, deadlift)

2) Finish first Oly distance tri

3) Swim for an hour straight with no rest

4) 25 minute 5k

5) 50-mile bike ride

6) 15% body fat

I decided to track calories as opposed to listing food, I asked several different people what program they used to get the calories from cause I really don't like the meal tracking system here.  Livestrong  MyPlate was the one most people use.  So, I signed up with that, it is easier than the BT nutrition tracker.....a few idiosyncrocies.......but fairly accurate and a good overall picture of how I am doing. 

I was 148 on Thursday when I swam.....didn't think that was accurate.  Today, mid day 145.2 which is probably closer to truth.

I like that it has a TON of foods already listed... including recipes that I've found online and made.  And - they make it easy to copy foods from day to day, so once I find something the first time, I don't have to re-find it.

I know that the BT nutrition logs are being over-hauled... I'm hoping for an end product closer to My Daily Plate so I can move that back here... I hate having more than one place where I have to go.

All that said... I've been tracking calories like an insane woman since January 1 and it's definitely making a difference.  I love how it makes it SO clear that every bite is a choice.  And each choice either gets me closer or further from my goal.  Forcing myself to log everything really helps me to give it thought before shoving it in my mouth.

I like the  goals, good luck and work hard you'll get there

Had a decent workout week that ended with a lovely bike ride through the hills to get acquainted with portions of the Xterra race coming up.

Tonight was swim team, which focused of form. I did not realize that I was swimming carrying many gallons of water! With the help of the "catch up" drill, I worked on staying level with the waterline to make getting myself through the water easier. What a revelation!

Tomorrow I will do a bike/run brick. If I am organized enough, I'll pack the bike and take the brick to the road.

This weekend we'll have another Xterra bike course ride through Saturday, then on Sunday I'm going to show up at a GEAR Adventure race and hope to find a partner to do it.

I am in the same boat as I already have a bunch of recipes entered into BT.  It is a bit cumbersome at times, but I still find it useful.  And being someone that is obsessed with collecting data (I am a biologist afterall), I enjoy the ability to make graphs and look at trends.  I have already found myself making better decisions yesterday and today based on the fact that I had to enter in the food choices that I make (and I know how much I have had for the day).

QueenZipp - 2012-01-10 10:26 AM 143.9    happy to see progress

YAY!!!

And my own good news:  148.2 ... lowest I've been since late September, I think.  And 3.2 pounds away from rewarding myself with some positively awesome-looking bath products to pamper myself with.

StartingToTri - 2012-01-10 11:31 AM

QueenZipp - 2012-01-10 10:26 AM 143.9    happy to see progress

 

YAY!!!

 

And my own good news:  148.2 ... lowest I've been since late September, I think.  And 3.2 pounds away from rewarding myself with some positively awesome-looking bath products to pamper myself with.

Way to go BOTH of you!!

I am hopeful for a good weigh in this week. I have been pretty good about food choices but the training has been off because of this crappy illness. Also the meds make me reatain a lot of water. I feel like I swish around when I walk.