VeggieBoards banner

July's challenge

7K views 121 replies 21 participants last post by  papayamon 
#1 ·
Today is the last day for June (well in Australia it is
) Welcome to the July challenge and good luck!

::hands out calorie free vegan cookies::
 
See less See more
1
#6 ·
Nice to see the July thread up. I'm going to join in this time. I've been dancing around my weight loss for a year now but started to get serious on May 30. I'm following a fairly low fat vegan eating plan, trying to stick as much as possible to whole foods. I've been doing pretty good so far. I've lost weight (can't say how much because I haven't been weighing myself but tomorrow I'll weigh myself to get a starting weight down), as my pants are fitting looser, I definitely have more energy and alertness, and, since I started, my weekly migraines have all but disappeared (only had 1 migraine this whole time and it didn't go on for 2 days - it disappeared the next morning). This is a HUGE thing and one I didn't expect. I guess consistency is the key.

My goals:
I can't say I have specific goals for pound loss this month, since I don't know what my starting weight is now. I do know my weight was around 188 before I started but I don't know what it is now. But I do have more abstract goals:

- to continue eating vegan but not to freak out if I eat a little more fat one day than I'm used to (if, say, I'm out at a restaurant and that's the only vegan thing they have)
- to continue to exercise 30-50 minutes a day 5-6 days a week.
- to keep my stress level down with things like deep breaking and positive thoughts (which is going to be important, because I'm starting grad school at the end of July, so this month is going to be very hectic)

I am now a loose size 16 and would love to fit into a size 14 by the end of the month, but I don't see that happening. But continuing to go on the same path and getting rid of the migraines is already a huge start (and is going to help me greatly when I start studying, since I know from having done a master's 5 years ago that the stress of studying makes the migraines more frequent).

Tam
 
#7 ·
my goal this month is to average 3 hrs a week on the elliptical and lift 3 times a week. that i'll lose some weight is a given, and i'm quite satisfied losing a pound a week at this point. the most important thing is i don't have to worry about gaining weight. i am probably going to add a little ground flax seed to my oatmeal and i'm looking for a dark chocolate that's not too bad. the problem with chocolate is if i got it, i eat every bit of it
.
 
#8 ·
what's really nice is eating a huge bowl of oatmeal and strawberries, drinking a bottle of water and stepping on the scales to see 196
. when your highest weights are under the range you once struggled to reach , you realize you're making progress and absolute goals aren't so important... just keeping on keeping on. when i do break 190, i'm gonna have a nice guiness stout in a frosty mug.

sunday is raw day, and i'm really looking forward to it. i thought i'd dread it, but it's actually fun.
 
#9 ·
Is it July already?


I weighed myself today and I'm at 175 pounds which is down from 180 two weeks ago so I'm happy about that.
I want to get down to at least 154 pounds eventually as I feel comfortable at that weight.

My goal for July is to get down below 170 and to use my exercise bike four times a week or more.
 
#10 ·
So happy to see this thread. My goal for July is to lose at least another 10 pounds (lost 30 already). Final weight loss goal is 50 pounds which would bring me to 140.

Second goal is to get to the point where I can run 5 miles by the end of July. Currently training for a 1/2 marathon.
 
#12 ·
Quote:
Originally Posted by Clarita Osita View Post

Think I'm going to have to back out for this month. I have too much going on, preparing to move out of the country, travel for a month, etc, so I'm just going to focus on that. Maybe I'll see you guys in August or September. Good luck!
this may be true, but there's no reason you can't get your butt on the street and power walk 3 times a week for 30 minutes. tell me one good excuse as to why you can't do that! buzzzzzz!!! time's up. you can't because there isn't one!
 
#13 ·
i'm now hopping on the elliptical for 15 mins before i go to sleep in the morning, just as soon as i bust the door from getting in from work at about 7:30. then it's another half hour 4 days a week right before i go to work at about 5:30. today i did just this, and i also did legs. it's going to be a wobbly night for me tonight in the er
, or at least till i loosen up.

it's amazing to me that it was ever difficult to motivate myself for this, because i just feel so damn good afterwards! that elliptical really turned out to be the best $250 i've spent on craigslist in a long time. and i'll have it for years to come, it's so sturdy. schwinn makes a great elliptical.
 
#14 ·
I'm in for this month - and probably August and September as well.
I'm just back from a wonderful vacation to Asheville, NC, which probably has the most scrumptious vegan food per capita than any other place in the US! So I'm pudgy. I'd like to take off a good 7-8 pounds. I'll start with a run in the morning.
 
#17 ·
Quote:
Originally Posted by papayamon View Post

this may be true, but there's no reason you can't get your butt on the street and power walk 3 times a week for 30 minutes. tell me one good excuse as to why you can't do that! buzzzzzz!!! time's up. you can't because there isn't one!
Oh, I didn't mean it that way. I'm still going to try to get some exercise in (I'm not a power walker, though), I'm just not going to worry about documenting it and such. For exercise I'm much more of a 5-times-a-week-go-super-fast-until-I'm-dripping kind of girl
and I'll try to keep up doing it regularly, but on the days where I'm up early packing boxes and up late filling out paperwork (way more than normal), or taking a train to and from the US consulate, I'm not going to worry about it. That's all
 
#19 ·
Starting weight for July 1st: 204.0 (19 pounds lost so far)
Goal weight for July 31st: 199.9

My goals for the month of July:
- Complete another 5k Race/Walk.
- Bike two different local 10 mile trails.
- Walk 8 of the nearby State Park trails.

Along with my regular goals of tracking everything I eat (stay under 2200 calories/day), do at least ten minutes of exercise daily, and go to the gym at least once a week.
 
#20 ·
boy did i ever fall off the wagon last night! rice cooked with oil and a huge piece of chocolate cake. i have no idea what was in it, or why i ate it. this is the first time i've done anything like this in months. there will be consequences for this!

my coffee is percolating and my elliptical awaits..... pain is the cure for gluttony.
 
#21 ·
Quote:
Originally Posted by papayamon View Post

boy did i ever fall off the wagon last night! rice cooked with oil and a huge piece of chocolate cake. i have no idea what was in it, or why i ate it. this is the first time i've done anything like this in months. there will be consequences for this!
Were you trying to eat raw before that? When I tried to eat raw I got insane cravings for peanut butter.


I just did 6 miles on my exercise bike.
I haven't felt that hungry today, I've only had wholemeal rolls and lots of fruit. I'm going to make some bean dip in a minute.
 
#22 ·
no. raw day is sunday. this was just buffoonery. the thing is what i do from here, whether i open the floodgates to eating fats (very unlikely) or whether i use this as a lesson to be more prepared if i want chocolate (as in fat free chocolate cake, highly likely). all i can do here is try to burn off 400 or so extra calories. i'm going to do 2 1/2 hour sessions on the elliptical.

i have been exercising pretty hard, which is what i think made me do this. my body is saying woah! i need calories!

the key to success is better preparation. this is the bottom line. i worked a shift last night i wasn't prepared to work, and i didn't bring food with me. i only slept about 3 hours that day too, so i was out on my feet and not thinking clearly. tonight i am bringing beans and potatoes, and getting salad at work.

it's not like i had a steak. this is easy to fix. how many of us here have foods cooked with oils and a slice of cake regularly. i did it once over the last 4 months. this is just a little blip, but i am taking this very seriously. no way am i going back to where i was before i started eating properly.
 
#23 ·
Quote:
Originally Posted by papayamon View Post

boy did i ever fall off the wagon last night! rice cooked with oil and a huge piece of chocolate cake. i have no idea what was in it, or why i ate it. this is the first time i've done anything like this in months. there will be consequences for this!

my coffee is percolating and my elliptical awaits..... pain is the cure for gluttony.
Journal about it if you want. I always force myself to journal after a binge so I can figure out why I did it. But you've noted it which is the important thing. One piece of cake isn't going to kill your diet plans so don't beat yourself up.

ETA: Just saw your next follow up plan. Glad you got your head on straight.
 
#24 ·
Quote:
Originally Posted by kpickell View Post

Journal about it if you want. I always force myself to journal after a binge so I can figure out why I did it. But you've noted it which is the important thing. One piece of cake isn't going to kill your diet plans so don't beat yourself up.

ETA: Just saw your next follow up plan. Glad you got your head on straight.
i'm not worried at all about getting there (down to 180 lbs). it's just a matter of what i have to do to get there, and i sure won't do it by being weak and eating off the diet plan. for the occasional cheat, you can work that off. the thing is it needs to be occasional. otherwise, it's the beginning of the end. this is why people yoyo and gain every bit of a hard fought for weight loss back in just a few weeks.
 
#25 ·
the first installment of punishment has been delivered. my elliptical (god, i love this thing!) has levels 1-16. i start on the base 5 level, and then i climb hills at 10 and 16 levels. these are hell to maintain speed with. it's got pre programmed workouts, but these are ridiculously easy. if you're gonna do it, then do it.
 
#26 ·
After a very long hiatus, I am joining back in! I lost 61 pounds and was only 14 pounds from a healthy weight when I fell off the weight-loss bandwagon due to work stress. So disappointed in myself. I gained 30 pounds back, but now am back to eating a healthy diet, staying within my calorie ranges (3 weeks now) and exercising again.
July: Lose 8 pounds
Exercise daily (Bike, walk, swim or elliptical).

I could be to a healthy weight by Christmas if I can stick with it!
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top