Challenge!!!

I'm posting the challenge early this week! It's down to the wire with weigh in LESS THAN A WEEK AWAY!! WOWZA! I wanted to give you a head start on the challenge so that you can prepare today to take it on and be awesome through this week. Really.. I'm taking advantage of today so I can tackle this tomorrow so thought you all could use a head start as well!
This weeks challenge is simple:
HAVE A PERFECT WEEK!

What does it mean to have a perfect week?

* Drink at least 64 ozs of water EVERY DAY!

* Pay attention to portion sizes.

*ROCK THOSE PECS!

*Exercise at least 30 minutes at least 5 days this week.

* Be perfect at whatever nutritional guidelines you are following. If you are eating clean.. no cheating. If you are doing weight watchers, track and count those points like your life depends on it. If you are eating on menu STAY ON MENU!!!

* Just remember that if you slip up you can IMMEDIATELY get back on track. If you can conquer this challenge, you will conquer some serious mental challenges as well!

You've got this!! BRING IT!

My favorite Funny!!

Okay.. I LOVE this video but am too MENTALLY CHALLENGED to figure out how to get it on the blog so... click on the link for this weeks funny. EAT LESS MOVE MORE! Enjoy!

The challenge you've all been waiting for!!

Hmm... well.. we are less than 2 weeks away from our next weigh in and I KNOW that many of you keep expecting that I'm going to post an exercise challenge. I've been trying to figure out the best way to do one because to be perfectly honest... we are all incredibly different when it comes to this. BEFORE I post this challenge I want to say this....

EXERCISE IS NOT AN EXCUSE TO EAT BADLY!!!!

You see... I have this issue with exercise and weight loss. I think it's an absolutely necessary and integral part of weight loss. I also run into people ALL THE TIME who use it as an excuse to eat whatever they want and then wonder WHY AM I NOT LOSING WEIGHT?!?!?! Exercise is amazing for a zillion different reasons.. it prevents practically every disease on the frickin' planet. The health benefits are ENDLESS!! BUT if you think that exercise alone is going to shed the lbs for you.. you couldn't be farther from reality!! Aerobic (cardio) exercise burns fat. Resistance exercise builds muscle tissue which burns fat more efficiently. These are EXCELLENT reasons WHY exercise is necessary as you work towards your weight loss goals. HOWEVER... you must burn more calories than you eat in order to lose weight.

SO... your challenge for the week??

Exercise for AT LEAST 30 minutes AT LEAST 5 times this week.

Make sure that during that time you get at least 1.5 hours of cardio in... (this means your heart rate should be 65%-85% of your MAX HEART RATE!! ) * If you already do this then pick a certain amount of minutes LONGER to exercise. Here is a fantastic secret to keep in mind when you are trying to decide what to do. The best cardio exercise is:

*

*

*

*

*

*

*

*

*

*

WHATEVER YOU ENJOY DOING!!! That's right... why force yourself onto a treadmill if you get a great cardio workout on the bike AND enjoy yourself!?!? Really truly.. find what cardio you enjoy the most and go for it!!

Another thing to keep in mind is that for the most part walking does NOT provide an adequate increase in heart rate (for most of us). If you are walking for your cardio... pick up the pace, do some hills, add some jogging... get UNCOMFORTABLE!!!

I can't wait to here how this week goes for all of you!! Good luck and get ready for the challenge from HELL next week! ;o)

[* To calculate MAX HEART RATE subtract your age from 220. Then calculate the percentage by multiplying that number by .65 or .85.. here's' MY example. 220-29=191 65% of 191 is 191x.65=124 85% of 191=162. So I would want my heart rate to be between 124 and 162. ]

YUP!

Just want to apologize for not being on top of daily posts. The truth is... it really doesn't seem like people are reading them and it's kind of a lot of work to get the info so... if you are genuinely interested let me know! For now.. I'll keep up the humor and the challenge... and if I learn anything really cool... I'll let ya know! ;o)

Challenge

Hi guys and gals! I'm sure you are all OH SO EXCITED for another challenge. This one might seem totally random to you but... I've been doing all of my personal training studying and just did a chapter on POSTURE!!

When I first started working with Lisa I realized quickly that my poor posture is a huge burden on my overall physical well-being. In other words... I have a lot of weakened muscular structure because I don't' stand up straight. She challenged me that first day to "stick my boobs out". Today... that's your challenge!

This is a pic from my curriculum. The farthest to the left shows proper posture. It actually recommends taking a picture of your posture so you can see what your postural deviations are. My deviation looks VERY much like the third picture. Funny that the book describes it as a posture commonly seen in OLDER people. They also refer to it as a "hunchback" look. THAT'S ME!! Kari the hunchback of Wellington. SO.. this week... figure out where you are lacking in your posture. If you stick your butt out like in the second pic.. concentrate on bringing your pelvis forward. For most of us.. the key to good posture will be as simple as STICKING OUR BOOBS/MOOBS [for Justin] or ROCKIN' pectoral muscles out, [in my case with no boobs... I'll call myself shooting for the third one!]and pulling those shoulders back. Click on the "stick your boobs out" link above to read Lisa's blog entry on the topic. Good luck!

So true!!

Challenge!

Sorry.. I've been very distracted today with the superbowl and almost spaced the CHALLENGE!!!!
This week is the start of a new month so I thought it would be good to focus on our goals. This challenge is going to have several components... so bare with me.
FIRST... make a list of your long term goals. Really.. write them down.. why are you here? What are you hoping to accomplish? NEXT...write down your "list of excuses"; EVERYTHING that has ever got in the way of your success. This could be pivotal... if you are able to write down why you "can't" and can SEE it... it's easier to figure out how to overcome it.

Last, set new goals to help you achieve your long term ones.

I think that realizing just how many of my "roadblocks" were actually just an excuse CHANGED MY LIFE!! Sometimes we have to sacrifice to get what we really want out of life. This could mean you wake up earlier, go to bed late, or something in between. It might mean you need to ask for help from others... but, anything is possible.

Feel free to put this on your blog... or just do it yourself. Bottom line... your challenge for the week is to: Face your excuses head on and determine how you are going to take control of your health and your life.

Good luck to all of you! You are your greatest ally and your most fierce enemy. Don't stand in the way of your success.

Losers who won:

This month our top 4 lost a combined total of 68.8 lbs. WOW!! So what does 68.8 lbs lost look like? Check it out! [click on the pics to see the comparision closer... it's very impressive! ;o)]

Yesterday was insane and busy and a little stressful. I'm sorry I did not properly congratulate everyone.. so today.. after a night of sleep, I just want to say HOW PROUD/EXCITED I am for all of you!! 42 people actually sent in weights yesterday!! That's actually statistically a terrific number. I used to think that weight loss in a competition was about WINNING.. I didn't get why people joined and didn't go insane but the truth is... ANY LOSS or even maintainance is 300 times better than a small gain. Slow and steady still loses. A person who loses 3 lbs a month will lose 36 lbs in a year if they stick to it! THAT'S PRETTY DANG AWESOME! This month was pretty hardcore and it's my experience that numbers [losses] like these are pretty unlikely to happen again!! (The top 4 lost 7.75% and above..) Don't assume that you can't keep up with these guys... most likely you can!! Keep working hard towards your goals. Baby steps forward are still steps in the right direction!

CONGRATS TO EVERYONE WHO WEIGHED IN YESTERDAY!!!

(And even those who didn't!) We are all on a journey... glad that most of you have decided that being here is a part of that journey for you!

P.S. If you didn't weigh in yesterday for whatever reason PLEASE send me a weight by Monday morning. You are STILL eligible for prizes for next month and the overall prize. I know that life may have gotten in the way this month for some of you, but you are NOT out of the comp, unless you want to be.

WINNERS!!!

Our winners for the first month are as follows!!

1st place...... ANGELA with a 9.80% loss!!!

2nd place.... JUSTIN with a 8.20% loss!!!
3rd place.... AMANDA with a 8.16% loss!!!

4th place.... BRANDON with a 7.75% loss!!!

CONGRATS GUYS! :o)

Click on this chart to see how you did! ;o)

COMBINED, the 42 people who weighed in lost a total of 307 lbs! IN ONE MONTH!!!

1 person lost > 20 lbs.

4 people lost 15.0-19.9 lbs

8 people lost 10.0 to 14.9 lbs

13 people lost between 5.0 and 9.9 lbs!!

Weigh in!!

Okay!! Weigh in is TOMORROW!! YAY!!

Remember to weigh in at the SAME TIME of day, in the SAME CLOTHES or lack thereof as your original scale pic. Also.. don't forget to get me your AFTER PICS in the same OUTFIT. Front and Side are REQUIRED and you need to be holding the DATE and HOUSEHOLD ITEM IN THE PICS!!! Your weights are DUE to me at kariscomp@yahoo.com by 6 pm MST. Also, your after pics must be into me by Midnight. If you have any questions about these pics.. please feel free to email me.

The household item for this month is a TOOTHBRUSH!!

[The model above is NOT wearing approved clothing for this competition. Please DO NOT send me pics in anything similar to this. Luckily I already have your pics from the first month and have approved the clothes you should be taking these pics in. This particular model is NOT in the competition and does not want ANYONE to see just how thin he really is! ;o) No children were hurt in the making of this blog.]

It's totally okay to take your AFTER pics tonight in order to have them ready to send in tomorrow!! I would LOVE if the after pics came with the scale pics!! Also.. if you take your pics first thing in the morning feel free to send them at that time. I would love to have them coming all day long to save me from having to spend a ton of time in front of the computer at once. THANKS!

Can't wait to see how hard you've been working this month!! GOOD LUCK!!!!!

Heads up!

Just wanted to apologize! I realized from Jess's comment that while I made sure to post that PICS of winners would be included on the blog I never mentioned that weights would be posted. I am not sure how many women or men did or didn't think this would be the case... regardless... it's not in the rules or details and I can't just do things that may have effected whether or not someone would have joined in the first place! SO...

Tomorrows percentages will be posted!! Every month I will ONLY post percentage lost (or gained)! (I can't post how many lbs with a percent... math is a magical thing!) HOWEVER... POST AWAY on your own blogs! ;o) So so close!!

Only 6 hours till the household item is posted... WAHOO!!

I CAN'T HELP IT!!! LOL!! ;o)

OMHeck!! ;o)

I've been so busy being in my own FUNK that I've totally missed the excitement that must be going on in so many of your lives! WOWZER!! THE FIRST WEIGH IN IS FRIDAY!!!!! :o) Can you even believe it? ;o)

Here is a brief description of what will go down.

On the 4th of each month I will post the household item around 3 pm. This will give night weighers [some people like to weigh in in the evenings because they don't have time in the morning] the opportunity to weigh-in that evening and morning gals the info to be ready for their morning weight pics!

Your scale pic, [complete with date and household item] MUST be in to me by 6:00 p.m. on the 5th. Also, your after pics [also with household item and date in the SAME outfit as your last pics] must be into me by midnight on the 5th. I will announce the winners for the month around 6:30 on the 5th but will not send out prizes until I have your full body pics. In the case that someone does NOT turn in their pics on time, they will forfeit their winnings and the prizes will shift to whoever is next in line.

A few more reminders. PLEASE weigh yourself in the SAME clothing (or lack there of) at the same time of day as you did for your original weigh-in! ALSO... please check out the RULES once again. There is a lot in there but I wanted to remind everyone that the use of diet pills/laxatives/diuretics is PROHIBITED for this comp.

Friday will be here before you know it! Remember that some gals/guys with tickers may not be updating their tickers [when I was competiting I refused to update too often.. didn't want people to know how I was doing!]... you have NO IDEA who is busting it out and who is slacking. Okay... that's all for now. BUST IT OUT GUYS!! The first month is hardcore.

DiD yOu BrInG iT?