Friendly Competition...

Yes, my friends, I've joined another challenge. After the last 7 weeks I've thrown almost all healthy habits to the side (the last two weeks I've been trying to do better but still... not as well as before) and I've realized this is not a way to live a healthy life. My buddies started another challenge where you get points for different activities and misc things you do. While at first it seems a bit daunting but now looking at how you can earn points, I feel like I can really rise up to be a competitor for medal position. (Okay, you don't get medals, you get prizes but the Olympics ended and it just sounds better)

I looks like this challenge ends the day before our Costa Rica Trip which is perfect!!! I'm truly excited and will start posting how it goes!

I do want to set a personal goal for me. To do some form of exerise everyday. It could be a half hour walk with the dogs to all out workouts. Wish me luck! ;P

Pain is Just fear leaving your body...

...so does that mean I'm fearless at the moment?

I just finished the sixth week of boot camp and I'm feeling phenomenal. I've noticed I don't get too sore throughout the week but the last few days, they really wanted to give us the works! I love our instructors and they keep us on our toes! I've noticed such a difference just in these few weeks and can't wait till the next session to start again! The hubby is loving it too. It really has been a bonding experience!

I haven't blogged lately about hour Biggest loser Challenge we've been doing since after the half marathon we did a month ago, we just sorta gave up and focused on other things. I paid more attention to the girl Biggest Loser challenge I have with a few friends and started WW. Overall, I feel a 1000x better than I was 2 months ago. I think by the time our vacation (YEA!!!! 20 days to go!!!) I will feel confident in a bathing suit and not worry about covering the tummy.

How's everyone else doing with their workouts and getting healthy?

Weigh in #7

This week during our challenge we had not just our boot camp during the week, we also did another half marathon. It was a lot of fun and definitely going to be going back. Because of all that, no challenges or temptations were done. How are we on points?


Wifey: 10
Hubby: 8


I was the biggest loser this week. As in biggest loser who gained the least amount of weight. I ALWAYS gain a few lbs during/after a half marathon. This time it was only .5 lb so I'm definitely happy about that! :)

A few weeks ago I read on FitSugar something about Vitamin B.

Make sure you're getting your fill of B vitamins (B6, B12, folate, thiamin and niacin). These are important when it comes to metabolizing carbs, fats, and proteins. Not getting enough will slow down your metabolism, not to mention make you feel tired, depressed, and increase your risk for chronic disease.

I decided I will start taking it and see if it helps me out or not. Today is day two so I will have to report back in a month and see where it leads me. My running primary was at boot camp and the half marathon. I think I got 6 extra miles in there. This week, I'm going to put up another 15 mile challenge for myself. I have 12 days before Miami and need to kick up the ab work outs. Overall I'm feeling good but just want to push harder to get to the next level.

Weigh in #6

Last week was a stellar week. I exercised more and ate healthier (except for the weekend...blah!) I'm the biggest loser this week! WOOT! WOOT! But the hubby is gaining on me in points!


Wifey: 9
Hubby: 8


Last week's goal was to run 15 miles and I succeeded and surpassed that goal by logging in 28 miles! Hooray!!! I don't seem to making any major weight loss but it's okay, I just want inches to come off (they are) and want to get healthier! I think this week's goals will be running 25 miles.

Challenge #4

Two nights ago was another challenge in our little competition the hubby and I have been having in order to get into better shape. I decided I wanted to change it up and I created a quiz. For every question, you had to some form of exercise before you were allowed to answer it. It ranged from sprints up and down a football field, skipping 100 yards, lounges, squats, 50 push ups and 150 sit ups. You get a point for every question correct, and one for whoever finishes first.

Let's see if you can answer these questions:

1. How many calories in ONE serving of TGIF's Potato Skins?
2. A deck of cards is how many servings of chicken?
3. To burn calories, what is the optimal % range your heart rate should be at?
4. How many servings are the recommended daily intake for: Veggies? Fruits?
5. What is the most importing drink to have every day?
6. How many egg(s) does it take to fulfill one serving of meat?
7. How many calories would you burn if you play basketball(non-game) for 1 hour?

NO cheating! (on Monday I'll post the answers!)

as for who won? ...the hubby did!

Weigh in #5

Sorry but I've been a slacker and injured so two weeks ago data will not be posted. For now, I'm posted this morning's up to date point tally!


Wifey: 7
Hubby: 6


Yes, I am ahead in points but it is ONLY because of challenges and temptations. The hubby did awesome this week and lost 2.6% while I lost 0%. :| Oh well. And because of my back, almost 100% of exercise was non-existent. Today I started another challenge with some friends to work out more. My back is getting better and during lunch today, I'll go running with a friend and hopefully I'll feel like my old self soon. I'm going to be a little lax on this week's goal: 15 miles. I'm pretty sure I'll be able to do that.

Challenge and the Weigh in #3

We neglected to have a temptation last week because the hubby was out on Thursday so no one was rewarded points. On Saturday morning we had our 10k run and decided that the challenge was whoever finished faster won. Since I'm a whopping 8 inches shorter I got a head start... 1 minute per inch! Up and down the hills we went and by mile 4 we were within a few minutes of each other (I'm the slower one...I blame my short stride). By the time I crossed the finish line I knew I was within reach. I finished only 5 minutes behind me, giving me another victory for challenges! HOORAY!!

I have to admit, I was not good about what I ate. I did however log in 18 miles for the week. But the scale doesn't lie... wifey GAINED 0.36% while the hubby LOST 0.34%. Yes, it was a matter of less than 1% both ways but we still have to award the point to someone! So the tally is as follows:


Wifey: 5
Hubby: 3


I missed my last week's goal to run 20 miles but I'm still happy with what I did. This week we have another 10k and this time it's flat! I want to again try to do 20 miles. Let's see if I can do it!

Challenge and the Weigh in #2

Because we had family in town all weekend we moved our challenge to Sunday evening. The challenge for this week was an easy one. It was a battle of wills and who could hold out the longest. We started with having to hold a dog over our head (the hubby got the bigger one who weighed 13lbs while I got the little squirt who weighed 7 lbs.) while laying down. Yes, we dragged our dogs into our weirdo world! So minutes ticked by and our stomaches were grumbling wanting dinner but neither of us would budge. By minute ten we upped it a notch and sat up and had to hold the dogs out in front of us. Tick Tock Tick Tock! The hubby started to get antsy and tiresome while I and the little puppy focused and didn't move. By the fifteenth minute, the hubby dropped Bruno and gave up... I WIN AGAIN!!!

This morning was our second weigh in. I figured since I ate like I didn't care that I wouldn't be the biggest loser. The hubby got on the scale and low and behold, only lost another .24%. Great, so if the hubby lost .24% I must have lost .1% this time. WRONG... apparently when you don't care that is when you lose weight. I racked up 2.46% weight loss! WOOT WOOT!!! I WIN AGAIN!


Wifey: 4
Hubby: 2

So I've decided that since I'm doing this weekly update, I might as well write down my goals too... This week, I'll run 20 miles. I have a 10k this weekend and I'll be running to it (it's 2 miles away). That gives me around ten miles to run before the race. We'll see if that helps or hinders any weight loss!

Tempation #2

It was my turn to create the temptation while I have to admit, I had all these amazing plans but when it came to my turn, I was lazy and took the easy way out. I created a list of restaurants and labeled them zero through nine. When it was time, we played a game of hoops using the game I got him for Christmas. Then whoever won, would than get to pick a restaurant from the two places his top score was. So if I scored 45 points, I got to choose from restaurant 4 or restaurant 5.

And well, I lost and he got to choose. CHINESE FOOD IT IS! Like the last time, we are allowed to reward each other if we were good, and lets just say neither of us got a point! :| (If we could have subtracted points I'm pretty sure we would have too!!!) Oh well, I guess this means I'll have to actually exercise now!

Challenge and the Weigh in...

We had our first challenge on Saturday and I'm happy to report I won! It was who could jump rope the longest and I cleaned house! ;) But as the weekend drew to an end, the record heat got us both tired and any "last chance workouts" where out of the question (other than my typical 10 minutes of abs late at night).

This morning we had our first official weigh in and while I have to admit I did notice the ever so slight indentation of what one can call a waist appear out of nowhere I only lost 0.35% of my total weight. At first I was really bummed about it but while I thought my goal was about losing X lbs, the only thing I really care about is looking decent in a bathing suit and being healthy. So, if I lost 0.35%, how much did the hubby lose? 0.48%! YES... he beat me by 0.13% and thus getting the point for the week. Because we both earned points on the temptation and with my challenge win and his weight loss win, we are tied.

Wifey: 2
Hubby: 2

Today is SUPPOSE to be the start of the boot camp but we found a better one that is a little more but is 5 days a week and six weeks long. Only downfall is that it starts in May. :| This means either join this one too or just do the other one and have to train by myself until then. I think it might be the latter...

Temptation #1

With our first temptation behind us, I think I succeeded admirably! It was the Hubby's turn to make up the temptation for our competition. He wrote down ten restaurants and numbered them in no specific reasoning. Then it was my turn to pick a number and we would have to eat there. I had no idea what number when with what eatery. The restaurants ranged from Subway all the way down to Panda Express. The real temptation came when we got there, we got to decide if the other deserved a point for being good. I luckily choose number six that ended up being this little cafe near our house and had a sandwich (without half the bread, and not dressings of any sort) and kept it mostly healthy.

Did I get my point? Yes! :)

Corpse pose...

In my quest to beat my hubby on our little competition, I decided last night to drag one of my really good friends to Bikram Yoga while he was out with his buddies playing pool. My friend has never done yoga before and while I know my asanas pretty well, I've only done Bikram Yoga once. Thirty minutes into the 90 minute class I was about to pass out. By the forty minute marker, I wanted to throw up and by the middle mark of the class I was in constant corpse pose. Mental note, never to a class and with a cotton shirt on and "sorta" hungry.

Overall it was fun to watch my friend attempt some of the poses and watch him almost take out the little lady next to him. I think next week I'll hunt down a nice cool climate yoga loft. ;)

What is Bikram Yoga:
Also known as Hot Yoga, is a style of yoga developed by Bikram Choudhury and a Los Angeles, California based company. Bikram Yoga is ideally practiced in a room heated to 105°F (40.5°C) with a humidity of 40%. Classes are guided by specific dialogue including 26 postures and two breathing exercises. Classes last approximately 90-minutes.

Source

Let the competition begin...

My obsession for going to a fitness boot camp almost came true today... until the lady who runs it called and told me it starts next week. :| But with my constant chatter about it, my hubby now wants to attend and the "biggest loser competition" was born in our household. We decided a healthy dose of competition is always good to get the other moving.

We set goals for ourselves that don't seem out of the ordinary and decided just like the show, we'll have challenges and temptations that we would take turns being in charge of. With this being week zero and no boot camp in sight, we're going to have to be each other's coaches to get our butt's moving.

The competition will last only six weeks and because of the joy of it all, I figured I might as well blog about the experience and see how it goes. Anyone ever try to lose weight or tone up with their significant other?