LINK UP HERE, CHALLENGERS: The October 2 Deadline Link Tool is Open!

DO-IT Exercise!

Warning! This post contains Math. Don't be intimidated - I've included a cheat sheet.

The physical part of weight loss is relatively simple – Eat Less, Move More, Repeat. We all know about the Eat Less part, but what about the Move More?

Move More = Exercise.

Oooh, the dreaded E-Word. Exercise. Exercise! It's not all that bad, really. Regular exercise is an important part of effective weight loss.EFFECTIVE weight loss. Yeah, you can lose weight with just the “Eating Less” part, but it will be very, very slow and tedious beyond belief.

Moving More will help you shed weight by burning up the excess calories you consume. You need to consume a minimum number of calories every day just to power the basic functions of your body, things like thinking and oh, say, BREATHING. The minimum number of calories needed varies from person to person, based upon metabolism, age and current weight. This is called your Basal Metabolic Rate, or BMR.You also need to consume enough calories to support your normal activity levels. Your total calorie need to maintain your weight is BMR + Activity Calories. For women, the basic calorie requirement can be estimated with the following:

Calorie Requirement =

[655+ (6.3 x weight in pounds)+(12.9 x height in inches)-(6.8 x age in years)] x C

Where C =

1.2 if you are sedentary, little or no exercise;

1.375 if you are a little bit active, light exercise 1-3 days a week;

1.55 if you are moderately active, moderate exercise 3-5 days a week;

1.725 if you are very active, hard exercise 6-7 days a week;

1.9 if you are an Olympic Athlete training 17 hours a day.

Or you can just click here and figure it out online.

To lose weight, you need to run a calorie deficit, that, is, take in fewer calories than your Daily Calorie Requirement. It takes a calorie deficit of 3,500 calories to lose a pound, or about 500 calories per day. You can create a deficit in one of two ways: either consume way less calories than you need for basic survival, which will leave you feeling pretty crabby, or eat enough to keep your tummy from growling and burn off calories with exercise.

I prefer exercise. SO much better than walking around irritable and ready to slap anyone who looks my way.

Yes, that's me. Today, halfway through a 12 mile bike ride at lunch time. On a bridge over the Trinity River. Isn't that the coolest bike helmet ever? It's pink. It's glittery. It says "Nutcase"!

So, what can you do to burn up 500 calories a day?It really doesn’t matter what type of physical activity you choose – organized team sports, planned exercise, household chores, yard work, or work-related tasks – it’s all good. Studies show that even the most inactive people can lose weight AND gain significant health benefits if they accumulate just 30 minutes or more of exercise or other physical activity every day. Thirty Minutes, my Friends! That’s nothing! You don’t even have to do the whole thirty minutes at one time, just have a total of thirty minutes every day.

If you have been inactive for a while, you may want to start with less strenuous activities such as walking or swimming at a comfortable pace. Beginning at a slow pace will allow you to become physically fit without injuring yourself. Once you gain some strength, you can gradually tackle (pun intended!) more strenuous exercises.

There are about a bazillion ways to get some physical activity into your day.You can:

• Take a short walk around the block.Take a long walk around the city.
• Rake leaves. Jump in the pile and rake again.
• Play actively with the kids. Chase kids down the street, double back, sneak inside and lock the doors. Stand at the side window and giggle as they try to get inside.
• Walk up the stairs instead of taking the elevator.Walk up the stairs just for fun.
• Mow the lawn. Mow your neighbor’s lawn, too.
• Take an activity break -- get up and stretch or walk around. Do pushups under your desk. Better, still, balance your desk on your back and do pushups!
• Park your car a little farther away from the door and walk the extra distance. Leave the car at home and ride a bike.

The point is not to make physical activity an unwelcome chore, but to make the most of the opportunities you have to be active.

Major Disclaimer

I am not a medical professional or a professional trainer. I’m a professional engineer. Which means that I have to tell you that before you start any exercise program, be sure to talk with your doctor. He or she can offer suggestions about which type of program would be best for you.

Move More.Keep the Faith.

LINKY TOOL For the CDCC: Link up by the end of Sunday 9-25-11.

Here ya go!

You'll be able to link up earlier this weekend...and pray for T2KOs son...

I know some of you do your updates a day or two ahead, so I'll add a linky earlier--either later tonight or sometimes Saturday. That might make it a bit easier.

Also, one of our challengers let me know her son is ill, hospitalized. If you are a person of prayer, please pray for T2KO's boy. I hope she'll update soon with the status.

Hope everyone is doing well. If not, let us know. Blog about your obstacles, and maybe one of your fellow challengers has a tip, strategy, word of encouragement that will hit the spot.

And no matter what: No quitting!

Happy Friday!

DON'T DO-IT Self Bashing

Self Bashing = using negative terms to refer to yourself, your behavior, or your actions

I think this little ditty is needed more this week than an essay extoling the virtues of exercise. Note – there are some religious references here, because this is from my heart, and my faith is so ingrained into my being that I can't deny it.

I checked in on everyone this week, and I lost count of the number of times I read ‘fail’, ‘I’m Bad’, or some other version of self bashing. Let’s get this straightened out.

STOP IT.

RIGHT THIS INSTANT!!

First, the greatest cheerleader in your life is you. Not your Mom, not your BFF, not your husband or boyfriend, not Mir, not me. It’s all you, Sweetie. You live with yourself twenty four hours a day, seven days a week. You know yourself better than anyone else on the face of this planet. You cannot go through your days slapping destructive, negative labels on your forehead every time you miss a workout session or eat something fattening. They'll get tangled in your hair and leave sticky goo on your face.

Would you berate a little kid for eating a poptart, shaking your finger in his face and calling him a failure? Would you tell your Mom “You’re a bad person” if for some reason or another she didn’t run a mile yesterday? Would you scream at your Boss for eating a donut? No, of course not.

Then why the heck do you treat yourself that way?

You are a sentient creature, perfect in your creation, and you have a free will. This means that you are good, beautiful and complete simply because you exist. Because you breathe, walk, talk and think, you are the most amazing being in God’s creation. You are not a failure because you ate x-number of calories yesterday. You are not bad because you put something sweet in your mouth. You used your free will to make a poor choice, but you are not bad. You are NOT a failure.

What would you say to a child who has made a mistake? You’d forgive them, help them clean up the mess and then get on with the day. That is exactly how you should treat yourself. Pick yourself up, clean up the mess and move on. If you need help getting up, then ask someone. If you need help with the mess, ask someone. Poor choices are part of the weight loss game. They’re going to happen. Learn from them.

“Experience is what you get when you don’t get what you want.”

I know I’ve said this many times on my own blog – the physical part of losing weight is actually quite simple and very easy to do – eat less, move more, repeat. The mental part is a bazillion times more complicated. It starts with loving yourself, deciding to care for the body God made, making it healthy and strong. It continues with loving yourself, developing good eating habits and exercising. It ends with loving yourself and reaching out to others to share that love.

Love God above all else – love your neighbor as yourself. As Yourself. YOURSELF.

Love Yourself. Keep the Faith.

Thanks for Checking In! Pray for April!

I got late check-ins from Nanette and One Chick's, so that makes for 29 official check-ins.

April had a hospitalization, so if you're a praying sort, please keep her health in mind. She's at :  http://missapril-30before30.blogspot.com/

That accounts for all 30 challengers, I believe.

Let's continue to be supportive of each other. God bless us all this new week!

CHALLENGERS: Please, post your link to your September 18 Update Post, THANKS!

It's the start of a second week on the challenge. No matter if you did well, midling, or poorly, please post about it and link up to your update. AND PLEASE REMEMBER TO ADD YOUR ACTUAL SCALE WEIGHT IN THE BODY OF THE POST WITH THE UPDATE. (Added the previous, as I've seen three updates already that didn't include that. One of the rules, folks.) Here ya go: ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ I will post another blog entry tomorrow for any questions that need to be asked this week. Make sure the URL you enter is specific for your update post, not just your blog's home url, k? I have included the feature that lets you delete your own entry, in case you make an error. 30 Challenger = 30 links. Don't leave double links. Remove it if you make a mistake and re-enter. Let's see all 30 update by midnight today! A good week to all!