2013 Official Chaz Weight Loss Challenge

sparks19

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Fat won't kill you as long as your calorie count is still well within healthy ranges. Adding avocado in is a great idea and has been suggested to me multiple times. Unfortunately I have yet to figure out how to eat a bloody avocado.
You're not alone, I too think it's really hard to eat enough if I'm just eating what I'm supposed to be eating. It's taking a very real physical toll on me. I'm tired all the time now because I'm asking my body to outperform what I've been feeding it. I've stopped gaining muscle. If I carefully feed my body before a run I'm good, but trying to do a run in the afternoon when I haven't meticulously planned for it is incredibly hard.

It's not easy. I will say don't try to make up the calories by adding more rice - you're adding more carbs and that's not helping you out any. Two cups is a LOT! And you probably feel like crap afterward.
I know chicken is really cheap and that's why I eat a lot of it too, but a beef or pork stir fry instead of chicken will do better for you (I don't like beef but I will eat pork.) The days I eat pork my calorie count is MUCH better than when I don't.

Try removing a lot of the grains from your day. No bread at breakfast, just meat and fat. If you like eggs, eat at least one with your breakfast, two is better.
For your snack, unless that apple is super tiny it's more than 50 calories. A medium apple is almost 100. You might be not counting your other calories properly either so doublecheck all that. If you can find nuts you like better than that oat bar, swap it out. Almonds, pistachios, pepitas, sunflower seeds, cashews, all of these will be better for you.
Absolutely no pasta or bread for dinner. If you HAVE to have bread then eat it with breakfast. Don't do it for dinner. Try to avoid rice at this point too.

Also look into adding a shake. Drink it right after your workout while you're cooking lunch. You can buy a whey powder and make it a protein shake or just go straight for a shake. Banana, tablespoon or two of coconut oil, ice, and mix it up. Add other berries and fruits if you want. Some people also add spinach; avocado can be slipped in here too.

Shake: Medium banana + 1 tbsp coconut oil = 200 calories, or banana + 2 tbsp coconut oil = 300 calories.

Late lunch: Chicken avocado/basa fillet, two eggs - about the same, 600 cals

Snack: Medium apple, quarter cup of nuts (or if you can tolerate dairy, add in a few ounces of full-fat cheese) - 300 cals

Dinner: 6 oz of chicken, cook in coconut oil if you can - 300 calories.

1400-1500 calories.
And way less carbs.
Like :)
 

sparks19

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Finished up 40 minutes of total body burn. I was really dragging today for some reason and just couldn't get in a groove but I worked my way through it :) Also, registered for a 5 K glow run for june 1st with my friend.
 

eddieq

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Well, I'm away on business for the next couple of weeks. I know that I won't have the time or energy to even do the 10 minute workouts daily. The conference center is huge, though, so I'll be racking up over 10K steps daily anyway. As long as I keep the eating under control, I should come out of this OK.
 

Beanie

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Well, I'm away on business for the next couple of weeks. I know that I won't have the time or energy to even do the 10 minute workouts daily. The conference center is huge, though, so I'll be racking up over 10K steps daily anyway. As long as I keep the eating under control, I should come out of this OK.
The 20 Minute Hotel Workout should you find yourself so inclined...
 

Paige

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I am always surprised people eat under 2500 calories a day. I am a breastfrrding mom so thats a bit different but i need to eat way more than 1500 calories to even just function
 

eddieq

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The 20 Minute Hotel Workout should you find yourself so inclined...
Thanks for that, Paige. I actually have my 10 minute trainer discs and my resistance bands with me. The nature of this trip though is literally 15 days of 20 hour work days, so sleep is at a premium and finding 10 minutes is a pain.

I was motivated enough to work out yesterday morning, but I appear to have come down with flu-ish symptoms (chills, congestion, cough) and I slept in as much as I could today.

I've already gotten over 5K steps today and I probably will have at least twice that by the time I've gone from one end of the convention center to the other a few times. Plus, I get up from my work space and walk around our setup hall several times a day.
 

Beanie

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Had an AMAZING run today. My time was better than I thought (I started getting really tired with about half a mile to go and thought I was crashing some.) Not quite where I want it to be yet, and I'm still a bit disappointed because I did so much speedwork in the winter and it's not translating to my distance runs like I'd hoped, but it's closer to where it SHOULD be and that makes me happy.

I think the weather plays a huge part. Warm weather has me upbeat and ready to run. Cold weather has me all "I DON'T WANNA RUN WAAAAH" and if I don't really want to run, even if I go out and do it, I apparently don't perform very well. If I'm in a better mood about if I perform much better.

Looking at all the numbers from my runs on my Garmin, I really don't think I should be feeling as disappointed as I feel, but it's just not what I expected. Perhaps with the warmer weather my speed will rapidly improve. I'm just not sure.
Last year I finished the half in 2:23, which included me stopping to stretch my hip flexors and walking a little bit. I was glad to do it in under 2:30 (the year before, with severe shin splints and walking maybe half the race, I did 2:35:49.) This year I want to beat 2:15. I'm not sure I can do it. The times I'm putting up now say I can... but I'm just not feeling very confident for some reason.

I'm much harder on myself than I probably should be.


I should just be glad that last weeks six miler left me with no severe hip flexor pain afterward and I only struggled with some minor twinges during the run. But I'm not. I expect better from myself.
 

Fran101

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Trying to adjust my diet.. anybody have any suggestions? It has been slowly changing and is getting better but there is a lot of room for improvement (especially in the carbs department..)
I don't really have a calorie estimate for the green stuff but I figure it's pretty healthy (I drink about 2/3 of a solo cup to give you an idea per serving)

This is basically everyday

-7:00: Green veggie juice (I have a juicer and usually it's: Mostly Kale, Carrot, Parsley, Cucumber, Spinach, Broccoli, Beets..just whatever I have that week really lol)
-7:30 BREAKFAST: Peanut butter & banana on Whole wheat bread OR honey nut cheerios + almond milk
- 1:00 SNACK: Big green apple
- 3:30 LUNCH: 1 cup whole wheat pasta + some roasted chicken breast + a bit of salt
- 5:00: Green veggie juice (same as above really but with chia seeds)
-6:00 DINNER: Honestly dinnertime is a mess. Involves some kinds of fruits I munch on (handful of grapes, grapefruit or tangerine) + and honestly whichever one of the two things I ate for breakfast that day I usually just eat again.

I had the tendency to overdo it with pasta and stuff at dinner time so I pack my lunch everyday in the right portions and moved my "usual dinner" to lunch instead because I figure it's better to have the evil carbs at lunchtime right?
(yes. I need to have my pasta and chicken at some point in the day. JUDGE ME BUT IT WONT CHANGE! LOL) But that leaves me with a really weird dinner time where I just kind of drink my juice (which honestly leaves me not too hungry) and kind of twiddle my thumbs and ponder what to eat and end up just basically eating my usual breakfast again.

Things that pop in and out of my diet as well..
- French toast (yum. I make it as healthy as possible..whole wheat bread + 2 eggs + cinnamon + almond milk + honey) but it's still a special treat. Wish I could eat it everyday lol
- Turkey meatballs instead of chicken
- Yogurt (plan vanilla organic)

Things I CANNOT eat
- Red meat (if it isn't a bird it doesn't sit well in the tummy)
- Seafood (allergic)
- Mashed potatoes or any potatoes really (it's a texture thing)
- Quinoa
- Beans (texture thing)
- Eggs (just by themselves.)
- Veggies. There is a reason I have a juicer and it's because I NEED to get my servings a day and will NOT eat them like an adult. I can't force them down with the exception of spinach.

With that.. suggestions please?? especially about ways you would make it healthier and some dinnertime suggestions lol
 

Xandra

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Will you eat quiche for breakfast? Or like.. turkey sausage? I'm sure someone makes a healthy turkey sausage.

How about for dinner something like cacciatore?


You can just use breasts instead of the whole bird... the veggies turn into a kind of sauce if you can stomach that.

I had more suggestions till I got to the part about not liking veggies or eggs or beans. lol
 

Beanie

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-7:30 BREAKFAST: Peanut butter & banana on Whole wheat bread OR honey nut cheerios + almond milk
If you're worried about carb count, a banana plus whole wheat bread is not a good way to start your day. If you really want your pasta at lunch I would remove the bread here. Slice your banana and put the PB between two banana slicers, like so!
Even better, start your day with eggs and bacon instead. You said you don't want eggs just by themselves so start making an omelet! Mix cheese and in with the eggs. You said no veggies but can you do a well-blended salsa? Add salsa too if so. Also, if you're not like me and have a minor issue with "non-breakfast" foods at breakfast, mix in chicken or ground turkey.
You said no mashed potatoes, can you do shredded sweet potato? If so you can do a breakfast hash too.

I would stop the honey nut cheerios but if you want cereal, google for "paleo granola" recipes. You can eat them with your almond milk and also add fresh (or even frozen) berries and it will be lovely. That's how I get my cereal fix. Nom nom nom.

- 1:00 SNACK: Big green apple
No problems here but if you've swapped over to omelets for breakfast feel free to eat 1 or 2 tbsp peanut butter (or almond butter if the price doesn't offend you) with the apple to up your protein.

- 3:30 LUNCH: 1 cup whole wheat pasta + some roasted chicken breast + a bit of salt
Can you try and start decreasing the pasta? Just go 3/4 cup at first, try to work down to 1/2 cup. Increase the chicken and decrease the pasta, just a little bit at a time. Just a bit. I wasn't a big pasta eater but I ate a lot of rice, and I slowly just started making less rice to go with my stirfry. Now if I REALLY REALLY REALLY want rice, I only make 1/4 cup.

I had the tendency to overdo it with pasta and stuff at dinner time so I pack my lunch everyday in the right portions and moved my "usual dinner" to lunch instead because I figure it's better to have the evil carbs at lunchtime right?
Yes. Definitely. If you want grain-based carbs do them at lunch. Take it easy on carbs for dinner. Be careful with fruits at dinnertime too because a lot of fruit is high in carbs. DISCLAIMER: IMO carbs from raw fruit are going to be FAR superior to carbs you'll get from a processed grain laden pasta or bread. But if you're really interested in watching your carb count, it's something to be aware of.


I'm a mainly chicken eater myself. I make stirfry most nights. I like broccoli if it's cooked in a wok (about the only way I'll eat it) so I do chicken, broccoli, and I just grab spices out of the cabinet and start shaking them into the pan. Most nights I just add some water and pick up the spices and chicken flavours from the pan and that is my sauce. I also have tamari sauce (gluten free soy sauce) but be careful with that stuff, it's kinda crazy in sodium and carbs. I don't add a lot. This is also usually where I get a second serving of some kind of nut (usually cashews.)

I also like fajita seasonings... not so much fajitas because of all the sliced veggies, but I like the flavours, so I make chicken in fajita seasonings and eat it with some cheese, and again I'm okay with adding salsa as long as it's well-blended and I'm not getting big chunks of veggies. It's not very exciting without, say, Mexican rice or tortillas, but I still really like it haha.

Ground chicken or turkey means you can do meatballs, patties, and meatloaf (you don't actually need breadcrumbs for a meatloaf to stick together - honestly.) You can also do a "meatza" - pizza with meat as the "crust." Usually people use beef or sausage but I see no reason you couldn't use ground poultry..

How about trying veggies in a non-traditional way? I wouldn't ever want to just eat zucchini, but I actually like doing zucchini "pizzas." Slice the zuke really thin, grill it or bake it, then take it off the grill and put tomato sauce and other pizza toppings on it... put it back on the grill or in the oven until the toppings are warm. I also was surprised that I really like cauliflower pizza crust. Cauliflower itself makes me want to hurl but if you chop it up all fine in the food processor, then mix it with Italian seasonings and put pizza toppings on top, I actually like it, LOL.
Also maybe you can do grain-free lasagnas with strips of zuke or pieces of eggplant in place of noodles?
Sometimes if I'm creative with it I can do veggies. But I am not a "oh I'll just add some chopped onions to this!!" kind of person at all. I have to use them in unexpected ways haha.
 

Beanie

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About mile 3.5 today, I considered calling my credit card company and asking them if they can block the charge if I ever try to sign up for a half-marathon again...
 

eddieq

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All things considered in my current situation, I'm wearing my 38 jeans today. I posted that I had gotten into my 40's a few weeks back (starting in 42's).
 

Michiyo-Fir

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All things considered in my current situation, I'm wearing my 38 jeans today. I posted that I had gotten into my 40's a few weeks back (starting in 42's).
You're amazing!!

I'd be so so so thrilled if I could just lose 25-30 lbs and go down by about 3 pants sizes!


This is unrelated but for all of you guys that have to work, what do you eat for lunch???

I have such a difficulty with this because I only have a 30 minute lunch break and I don't want to eat out like I used to because it's usually not that healthy. But healthy foods are hard to bring! A sandwich or something is easy but if I want to eat some chicken with some leafy greens, avocado or something, it's a mess! I also only eat one slice of bread instead of 2 for lunch and it's impossible to make a one slice bread sandwich! What are your to-go lunches?
 
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I have one of those salad Togo bowls that keep the salad dressing separate, then I bring my meat in a different container. I make my salad the night before and make my salad meat for the week on Sunday, weight it and separate it so all I have to do each day is take container.
 

Michiyo-Fir

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What kind of salad meat do you make?

I've just been using either chicken breast or white fish because I find tuna to be too strong smelling, especially some people at work cannot stand the smell of fish. But I'm getting pretty bored of these just grilled in the oven!!
 
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Spinach with a boiled egg, dried or fresh strawberries, some cheese, cheddar or feta usually, honey Dijon dressing.

Butter lettuce, apples, craisins, cheddar, pecans, this one I usually don't use dressing, but raspberry vinaigrette works well.

Mixed greens, cabbage, dried cherries, fried wonton noodles, Asian dressing usually Thai.

Mixed greens, crumbled taco shell, cheddar, sante fe ranch dressing.

Spinach, mango, strawberries, blueberries tropical mango dressing.

I use grilled chicken or fake crab/lobster meat, I love that stuff lol. Except the taco shell one I will save some of the taco spiced ground chicken for those salads.
 

Beanie

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I pack my foods in different containers when I have to bring with (normally I have time to go home.) It's annoying because it makes for a lot of dishes at the end of the day, but I don't like having stuff all mixed together and falling all over each other. Also usually I bring some stuff that needs to go in the fridge and some stuff that doesn't... so it lets me put what needs to be in the fridge in the fridge, and keep the rest of it out at my desk.

Go to lunch for me is a medium apple, 2 tbsp PB, 2 oz of cheese, and 1/4 cup of almonds. That's pretty much it every day.
I also have chicken sausages that I eat sometimes. On rare occasions I might have some leftovers.
 

sparks19

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Finished up my Total Body Burn workout and since I was a bad bad girl this weekend and because I miss Chalene I threw in the 20 minute workout on Turbo Jam lol.
 

sparks19

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Just got home from fit club. 45 minutes of high cardio but super fun Rockin body :). I LOVE this program!!!!
 

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