Can you guys believe it is June already? SO here is the thread for the June Challenge. I want everyone to be able to achieve their goals this month so we are going to have a multi level challenge. Here she goes....

June Exercise Challenge

Level 1- 30 minutes per day for 15 days

Level 2- 45 minutes per day for 20 days

Level 3- 60 minutes per day for 20 days

Level 4 hardcore bad ass- 60 minutes per day for 30 days

I decided to remove the Water from this challenge and focus on the exercise. If we are exercising we should be drinking water while we do so.

Personally I am going for the Level 4 Hardcore Bad Ass. I am making it a priority in June. One hour a day- my time. Just me and my sweat. Darn it I am going to take off some weight this month!

Oh and as a side note to all. Peppermint extract, even just a tiny bit is way, way, way too strong for a chocolate Protein shake. But it really does clear up the sinuses. Guess I am going to have to get some Davinci syrup lol.

I do feel as if I don't have to brush my teeth for fresh breath though.

MMmmmmm....When I quit smoking, I soaked toothpicks in straight peppermint oil....MY FAVORITE! It wasn't too strong for me, but I had a friend who couldn't touch them without feeling like she was getting some kind of burn.....on the flipside, she could do all things cinnamon, and even cinnamon gum makes my tongue feel like it's got blisters on it. AND a side note to that, there's a very good reason that cinnamon oil is available only from the pharmacy....that stuff WILL blister the skin and don't even think about getting it near your face if it's undiluted.

I just got back from a 15 minute bike ride, and I have a stitch in my side. DAMMIT!

Ugh. My stomach is so queesy right now! I love cinnamon and peppermint but man that extract was just a bit too much. The amount I used would have probably been enough for 20 shakes!

Good job on the bike ride. My bike is still broken and if it does not get taken care of tomorrow I am going to stop putting out lol. Then I'll bet DH will jump to fix it right up.

HA! Yeah, that's a great motivator. Tell him, no more nookie until the pedal is fixed, or the damn bike is replaced, and you'll be riding again in no time flat!

Suzanne

Feb'07 Bandsters: June Challenge ~ Level 1

11 of 15 workouts (30 minutes a day for 15 days)

Suzanne you are so going to make it this month!!!!

HA! Does it really count considering the level I'm going for in this month's challenge is "LESS THAN" the amount of work required for the previous months? :-P I guess it does :biggrin1:, but I feel some how that I am cheating.

For the July Challenge, let's add a level with my REAL goal -- 5 days a week for 30 mins -- my surgeon WANTS me doing cardio 5 or 6 days a week for 30 mins since I've got so much to loose to reach a healthy BMI.

I know we're not pulling many Feb'07ers with us into the Challenge threads, but I hope y'all will stick with me through a few more... The exercise is MUCH harder for me than the food element of this whole thing. (I'm STILL not getting in enough Water either, but that's a separate issue! ) I haven't a single competitive bone in my body, but I like knowing I'm accountable to y'all & that somebody'll notice when/if I slip up!!! HA HA HA! :heh: LMAO And the individual levels was a good idea!

I've read lots of people say they didn't start exercising in earnest until about 6 months out, so perhaps many of us just aren't in the mindset for exercise yet. Maybe we'll catch a few more Amethyst Bandits :bandit in July...

Hey you know I will be around for the long haul. Maybe you can help me with the food and I can help you with the exercise lol.

I think a 5 days a week challenge is a good one. Do you think that setting weight loss goals for the month would be helpful too? Obviously not crazy ones but maybe like 7 pounds. You, travelgirl and I are all right around the 50 lb mark so maybe that would be something good to add.

Is anyone else having messed up periods since having the surgery? I had one for 5 days then another 2 weeks later, then another 3 weeks later and now it is about 3 weeks later but I bled for like 1 day than nothing for 2 days and now I am having a regular (but heavy) one. Anyone else having weird crap going on down there?

My periods are like clockwork as far as timing goes, but that's only because I'm on NuvaRing. (once a month birth control)....However, I have noticed that they are significantly heavier and last at least a day longer than they used to.

I'm shooting for 229 on Sunday, July 1, and 221 on Sunday, July 29. That is exactly 2 lbs/week, which is my goal...and it's the rate at which my doc wants me losing, and funny enough, it's exactly 7 lbs, which is what you were thinking, anyway! LOL

Okay - this is gonna sound bad, because YES 2lb a week is exactly what my doc wants for me too, and my average over the 17 weeks is 2-3/4 lb -- right on target, BUT BUT BUT...

I think that a # isn't something we can completely "control" the outcome of, ya know? Like, if I blow off the next 4 workouts (over the next 12 days), then not meeting my challenge is directly my responsibility, and something I can change for next time. But with pounds lost... Well, we've all failed at other diets before, and I think a lot of people have their sense of self warped by the readout on the scale. :scales: Like we need more reasons to beat ourselves up about what the scale says! :scalesno: I know several people who don't even own scales, only weighing in at the docs. PLUS, we've all plateaued! And it took different things to push past the plateaus for different people with different rates of success. But I think we/i put enough pressure on ourselves about stalling (or -please no- gaining) that having to also "loose a challenge" in addition isn't the point of the challenges in the 1st place. Does that make sense? It sounded all scrambled when I wrote it! The challenges are supposed to be motivational, encouraging, and you have total control over the outcome -- they are a positive thing. If a plateau comes that stalls out weight loss for a week or two while waiting for a fill or whatever cause it might be, then you don't succeed at your challenge, which makes it a negative thing. :blah: I hate to be a glass 1/2 empty girl, but that's my opinion! :biggrin1:

:usa: That is why I will vote NO on the pounds amendment! :peace:

And now I respectfully yield the floor for further debate! :yo:

Lizrbit(Beth) from the main Feb group is having/had screwy periods with mid-cycle bleeding since her surgery. She posted about them either on the Feb'07 thread, or on the BMI 50+ thread (http://www.lapbandtalk.com/f15/thread-super-sized-bandsters-starting-bmi-over-50-a-16168/), if you care to search.

I have to say...and this comes from both an infertility & a cancer perspective, so keep that in mind... All sorts of things can cause mid-cycle bleeding. You really need to check in with your GYN to make sure it isn't one of the more worrisome conditions. Would it be presumptuous of me to insist?!? Well, even if it is.. I DO!!!

As for my periods...

Prior to 18, I was regular as the day is long. But it turns out I've got PCOS, and at around 18 (wearing a six 14/16, btw) I started having only 4 or 5 periods a year -- except while on the Pill or taking Provera to bring them on. Oh and the many months on Clomid while trying to conceive! :scalesno: I had regularly taken metformin/glucophage for the last 5 years (but not while breastfeeding) and it seemed to help the situation, bringing more cycles than just 5, but not once a month. I went off met. in March -- just to see what the weight loss would do for my cycles.

And now... two periods in a row, the 2nd (May) starting 34 days after the 1st (April)! What the frick?!?! I hadn't had a period since January!! But I'm expecting one at the end of this month.

Can it really be that I am regular after all these years?!?

Okay - this is gonna sound bad, because YES 2lb a week is exactly what my doc wants for me too, and my average over the 17 weeks is 2-3/4 lb -- right on target, BUT BUT BUT...

I think that a # isn't something we can completely "control" the outcome of, ya know? Like, if I blow off the next 4 workouts (over the next 12 days), then not meeting my challenge is directly my responsibility, and something I can change for next time. But with pounds lost... Well, we've all failed at other diets before, and I think a lot of people have their sense of self warped by the readout on the scale. :scales: Like we need more reasons to beat ourselves up about what the scale says! :scalesno: I know several people who don't even own scales, only weighing in at the docs. PLUS, we've all plateaued! And it took different things to push past the plateaus for different people with different rates of success. But I think we/i put enough pressure on ourselves about stalling (or -please no- gaining) that having to also "loose a challenge" in addition isn't the point of the challenges in the 1st place. Does that make sense? It sounded all scrambled when I wrote it! The challenges are supposed to be motivational, encouraging, and you have total control over the outcome -- they are a positive thing. If a plateau comes that stalls out weight loss for a week or two while waiting for a fill or whatever cause it might be, then you don't succeed at your challenge, which makes it a negative thing. :blah: I hate to be a glass 1/2 empty girl, but that's my opinion! :biggrin1:

:usa: That is why I will vote NO on the pounds amendment! :peace:

And now I respectfully yield the floor for further debate! :yo:

OK, so Yes, I agree with you on this one. You're right, we can work our asses off and not lose anything. Been there, Done that, got the t-shirt, burned it. BUT I am still going to shoot for my above stated goals, but that's all they are, is goals, not part of a challenge. Sorry, Babygrl, but democracy rules on this one, and I believe that you're overruled on this one (unless Skinnyjeans wants to "weigh" in on the matter) :biggrin1:

Yeah I probably should go see the doc. She is probably going to be pissed at me since she was not too much of a fan of the surgery lol. When I had my IUD my periods were only 3 days long and light enough to have only 1 tampon per day. I hate this heavy bleeding crap. I go through like a box of tampons a day.

Zannie I totally crapped my pants once at the store while on Metformin. That stuff is brutal.

The reason I am all for the weight loss challenge is because it helps me with my eating. If I am not looking to lose weight I am looking at food going in my mouth. But maybe we can just have our own personal weight challenge and not a group one.

Oh and I saved the best news for last. My smallest pair of jeans (size 20) were getting a little baggy in the legs and butt. Very saggy in the butt. Now mind you these are regular jeans not stretch and they were starting to look awful. So I went to the store and fit into.....some Levis slim fit bootleg jeans in size...ready for it?.....16. I almost crapped my brand new pants right there at the store. I actually teared up I was so happy. They are stretch but who cares. They are a 16. They were in the misses department. And I am down to about 1.5 chins. It is getting really exciting.

And how am I overruled? I want to do the weight thing lol.

Hi... I just wanted to say everyone is going really great with their workouts and weight loss it's good to see, this tread has helped me stay motivated. I got up at 5am this morning to do my workout on the treadmill which went well untill I got to the 55 minute mark when it started to slow down on it's own and started to smell like something was burning:confused: so that's great just when I was really getting into working out now I will have to wait untill the weekend when my dad can have a look at it. So I guess I will have to find another way to workout It's winter here in Australia so can't walk outside as It has been raining for the last 2 weeks. So I guess I will be doing workout video's or riding my stationery bike that gives me a sore butt. As for periods I'm on the Depo Provera Injection so I don't get any periods.:scalesno: