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649848 tn?1534633700

Healthy Living Challenge 2020

HEALTHY LIVING CHALLENGE 2020

School will be starting soon, which means  we’re nearing the end of summer and I’d like to take this opportunity to say that I hope everyone is doing well during this uncertain, tumultuous time we’re in.

As we do our best to stay healthy and keep our families safe, this seems like a good time to start a new challenge. Usually, we do weight loss challenges, but I thought it would be nice to try something a bit different this time. Because not everyone has excess weight to lose, a “healthy living” challenge seems to fit in since we’re all trying to come up with, or reinforce ways to get/stay healthy.  

You might need to lose/gain weight, have a heart problem or diabetes and need to implement a more healthful diet. You may be out of shape and need to start, or improve your exercise regimen or maybe you’re just looking for ways improve your overall health or want to feel more confident and better about yourself.  Whatever goal(s) you might have, to improve the way you feel, look or think about yourself counts as a goal for the challenge.  You can have more than one goal.

If weight loss is your goal, safe weight loss is 1-2 pounds/week.  Since losing weight too quickly can be dangerous and often results in gaining much, if not all, of it back, I don’t recommend that you try to lose much more than that. We advocate healthy weight loss vs fad diets, pills, etc.  

There are a lot of healthy diets out there, so if eating in a more healthful manner is your goal, you can explore various eating plans and try to come up with one that suits you best.  The same goes for exercise – find what you like to do and will stay with – that’s usually the best plan for you.

The purpose of this challenge is to prompt us all to do better with whatever program(s) we decide to implement, as well as support and motivate each other.  We also want to try to help each other find ideas that will help us reach our goals, so if you have issues that you need help with, don’t be afraid to let us know.

So – just post below that you want to join in the challenge and we’ll get started.   If you have medical issues that affect your eating, ability to lose weight, etc, I recommend that you talk to your doctor(s) before starting any new program, whether it’s a new diet, exercise, etc to make sure s/he approves of what you’re doing.    

On Sunday, I’ll post a thread on which we can all check in and discuss our goals and whether or not we reached them for the week.  You can include things you’ve tried, things you want to try, what worked and what didn’t work.  Currently, the weekly thread is a “weigh in” thread… I’ll probably call it a check in thread instead since some might not be trying to lose weight.  Everyone is welcome to post on this thread, whether or not you choose to join this challenge, as we can all use encouragement or motivation.  If weight loss is your goal, you never have to post your actual weight – only the pounds lost/gained.  

Are you ready??   Let's get started...
5 Responses
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Avatar universal
I am working out and seeing great result and that's a lot for me.
Thanks and have a nice day.
Helpful - 0
1 Comments
That's awesome.  I'm always happy to hear that someone has found something that works.  
Avatar universal
I am new to the community to, and need to get fit and loose weight, a lot of it is around my belly just like my dad, I have heart problems, I also want to join you all.   So I've started today!
Helpful - 0
1 Comments
Hello and welcome to the community.  Be sure to check out the Sunday weigh in thread to let us know how you're doing and what we might be able to do to help reach your goals.  We can provide tips and ideas as well as encouragement and support.  
Avatar universal
ya i am absolutely ready for this i am already dieting going for jog playing football three times a week for a month and i am seeing the difference and i also very happy.
Have a nice day spread peace.
Helpful - 0
1 Comments
Hi and welcome to the community.

Be sure to join us for our Sunday Weigh-In to share your progress with us.  The weigh in thread is posted each Sunday and is dated, so you'll know you have the right week.  
Avatar universal
I want to start a plan, but my only problem is lack of information about workout and diet. Many people say that doing workout without proper guidance can result in negative affects, and same as diet. I'm confused about it.
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3 Comments
Hi Jerry... welcome to the community.  

I'm not sure what you'd consider proper guidance for developing a healthy living plan.  A good diet is one that keeps calories in check, as long as it includes all the right kind of food, since the type of food we eat is as important as how much.  The Mediterranean Diet is one that's often recommended by doctors and nutritionists as being the most healthful, balanced diet.  You can do some research and try to implement that diet into your plan.  

As for exercise - almost anything that keeps one from being a couch potato counts as exercise.  Just pick an activity you'll stick with and do it.  Some people like to walk or run, some ride bikes, some swim, others do yoga, Taekwondo, or lift weights, etc.    In order to keep all the muscles strong and flexible, we have to use them all so sometimes more than one type of exercise is necessary to insure that all muscles get used.  

I'm not sure what "negative" results you're referring to... you should talk with your doctor to make sure your choice of exercise is okay for you to do.  Any new exercise should be eased into and proper form maintained in order to prevent injury and etc.  Not exercising long enough or enough intensity, or not doing a specific exercise properly could result in not losing/maintaining desired weight.

There's a lot more that could be said on these subjects, but I'm not sure what you'd like to know.  If you can be more specific, perhaps we can be more helpful.
Negative effects usually are associated with older folks and folks with underlying conditions or injuries.  If you're relatively young and don't have underlying conditions or injuries, pick something you like and do it.  Start slowly if you don't exercise at present so you don't overdo it and cause an injury that sets you back.  Pick something you like to do.  Example:  if you decide you'd like to lift weights, learn to do it properly and don't start with weights that are too heavy or more reps than you can comfortably handle.  If you want to run, start running slowly and a short distance and slowly work yourself up to where you want to be.  Wear good shoes and try to run on soft ground whenever you can find it rather than always on paved surfaces, again if you can find it.  In other words, whatever you do, do it in a way that doesn't hurt you and build up from there.  If you already exercise and are looking for something different, that's a different story.  As Barb says, all exercise is better than no exercise.  Sports are more fun than other things, if you're young enough to not only play them but find others to play them, although in the covid era that's probably out for now.  Try to vary your exercise -- doing the same thing over and over can cause injuries.  Remember, have fun.  
Jerry, here's my best advice.  Start with baby steps and forgive yourself on the bad days.  I think about the logical stuff.  I can't/won't stick to a strict diet or complicated plan.  But there are known things that aren't great for us.  Give up a couple of those to start. And exercise, set a moderate goal.  Work outs of at least 10 minutes impact our health.  Shoot for 30 minutes of 'something' a day.  Try some different things to find what you like.  That's the key, if you hate it, you won't do it.  Walking is always an easy one.  :>)  Good luck
649848 tn?1534633700
COMMUNITY LEADER
So, I'll start first... For those of you that have been involved with this community for any length of time, you probably know that I’ve been struggling with weight issues for quite a few years due to medical issues that caused a huge gain that was out of my control.  In view of that, weight loss is always my major goal.  This time, I’ll add a more healthful diet and more/better exercise to my goal.  
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