Thriller, Howl, and the TURKEY DAY CHALLENGE!

wow! okay so i know i am the worst at blogging but mid terms kinda got in the way of me posting the past little while. now, they are all over and i am ready to start sharing again! :)

so, first off - HAPPY MONDAY! i hope you are all enjoying today. it is a great day! :)

this past weekend was CRAZY and sooo much fun! first came performing "Thriller" at the first mens basketball game and then saturday was full of volunteering for the "Howl". i had never been to the Howl before and i was quite shocked...i think that volunteering was the way to go! it got pretty nuts haha

friday night was a blast! i LOVE performing at basketball! and to make things even better - we had a super fun halftime to perform! Thriler!  here are a few pics:

the whole group after we won 74-41! go aggies!

me and ash are way scary ;) haha

saturday like i mentioned before was full of helping with the Howl. we (when i say "we" i mean rachel, chelsie, and myself) worked for about 4 hours during the day with set up, and then went back 2 hours before it started to finish setting up and getting everything ready, then stayed after to help clean up! throughout the actual event we were in charge of the hospitality room and making sure that everyone had everything they needed (snacks, drinks, etc). we also got to play around during the event - visit all the shows and do a little dancing. it was fun :)

chels and i are experts at making signs :)

a little playing :) - do you like the sparkly lashes? 

just a few of our favorite neighbors!  :)

lots of fun costumes!

it was such a great weekend and i was so glad to be able to spend it with my amazing roommates :) i really don't know what i would do without them!

now, for the TURKEY DAY CHALLENGE! this time of year is really hard for me to be good with my dieting. i feel like i have to eat everything in sight! i was getting super discouraged until i read this on the GPP website (seriously - its like the trainers can read my mind. they post things that i NEED to see! i think it is one of the huge factors that differentiates them from every other gym. they pay attention to the their clients and are so in tune with their needs. it really is amazing!)

from GPP's website on 10-24-12:

"Having a little trouble curbing the appetite this fall? It is a thing.

Autumn is a crazy time of year. One of the hardest times to watch what you eat. I think Karla H. said it best today,

"It's probably because we know we don't have to get into a swimsuit for another 6 months!"

So TRUE, right?

There are probably some other, more deeply seeded reasons for blowing our diets than just the comfort of knowing you'll be wearing baggy pants and sweaters for the next 6 months. These are probably rooted in our genetic coding due to the scarcity of food and lack of warmth which is about to be thrust upon us by mother nature. Well, not really thrust upon "US" any more, but your body still thinks that way. Once the daily photo period begins to shorten and the weather turns a little cold, as far as your appetite is concerned, IT IS ON!

There is nothing you'll want more this time of year than foods that will fatten you up and sustain you for a long cold winter. The drive to eat more, and more often will be hard to fight. But, fight you must! Because here is the thing, the average American gains between 5-15 lbs over the next 3 months! Here is the other thing, if you come into this season a "little heavier" than average, the damage could be 15-20 lbs when all is said and done, if you aren't careful."

this was exactly what i needed to read - i needed to know that i WASN'T alone in my struggling to stay strict on my dieting. so, since everyone seemed to be struggling with the same problem GPP decided to make a TURKEY DAY CHALLENGE starting today and continuing on until Thanksgiving Day. brilliant! the rules are as follows (also directly from GPP's website)

"The GPP Turkey Day Challenge

Beginning Monday Oct. 29 we issue this challenge to those who need to clean up their eating, become more committed to exercise and improve health. 

There are 3 parts to this challenge that you must commit to:

You may eat NO ADDED SUGAR - no white sugar, no brown sugar, no high fructose corn syrup (you'll have to check labels for this sneaky beast). Honey and agave are ok. Unprocessed fruits are OK.  You can have Splenda and Asptartame, but why the H would you want to?  Basically, anything that is a sugary sweet eaten for pleasure alone is off limits.  Just until Thanksgiving day.

You must complete 5 GPP workouts per week PLUS three extra 30 minute cardio sessions per week.

You are to pick a health related challenge to stick to.  Once picked, you should post this healthy challenge and how you will be accountable for compliance to it.  For example: you may choose to begin a few rounds of BCD & post (daily) whether or not you stuck to it.   Below are a few suggestions of health related challenges you may consider:

Comply strictly with a GPP meal plan.

Get 6-8 hours of sleep per night.

50 extra burpees per day.

Pray/meditate daily

No unhealthy snacks.

Take a daily multi vitamin.

5 servings of fruits + 5 servings of vegetables per day.

Eat .9 g of lean protein per lb of lean body weight daily.

Eat healthy & correct portions of breakfast/lunch/dinner.

Weekly community service.

Weigh & measure weekly.

The TEETH

If you are going to commit to any of the above, you have to be committed enough to put some teeth into it.  In other words, it has to HURT if you break your commitment.  So here is how that works:

You must commit to, and define your intention to complete the challenge to comments.

You must post daily results of your challenge to comments.

There are penalties for not following through.  Each time you miss a workout, indulge in a sugary treat, or mess up on your personal goal (your observable, measurable & repeatable one) you are to pay $1, or 1 can of food for every offense!  Strictly enforced by HONOR.  These are to be dropped off at GPP HQ.  Questions or exceptions are to be voted upon by those in the challenge.  Majority rules! 

All of the money raised and food items collected will be donated to the Bountiful Food Pantry. 

Challenge ends at midnight, Nov. 21st. 

We invite anyone looking to get a healthy jump on this holiday season to participate!  We look forward to your successful daily posts!"

i am really excited to start this challenge for many reasons, but one of them is because i KNOW that i CAN succeed with the support system that GPP has.  reading everyone's posts everyday is seriously so incredibly inspiring. the community at GPP is very unique and extremely tight knit. everyone wants everyone else to succeed - and they will help you to do so. so, i want to invite all of you readers to join in as well - lets help each other reach our fitness goals!

my goals that i am going to strive for everyday of this challenge is as follows:

50 extra burpees per day.
Pray/meditate daily
No unhealthy snacks.
Take a daily multi vitamin.

I am also going to try to limit my carb intake - meaning limited breads, pastas, rice, etc.

oh, and before i forget - one more thing that i HAVE GOT TO WORK ON that the amazing janetha from "meals and moves" brought to my attention. she is going to cut out all the BLT's. no, not the delicious sandwiches but "bites" "licks" and "tastes". its the spoonfuls of peanut butter, the handfuls of this or that and the CONSTANT snacking that kills me. the calories add up and QUICK. so i am going to rigorously work on cutting that out as well! 

i hope all of you will also jump on the TURKEY DAY CHALLENGE!!! we can do it together :) lets set ourselves up for success!

have a fabulous night!

xoxo,

lil kate ♥