First of all, I am super-psyched for the Challenge to get started! I will be weighing in and taking measurements and doing the SparkPeople fitness tests in the morning. I haven't measured myself in a while and am curious. I am especially excited because I should hit 173 within the first week or two of the Challenge. This is a big milestone for me -- it'll be the lightest I've been since having kids, halfway to my goal, and (most critically) the weight at which I am no longer obese. Super-psyched! I should also get back into the 160s this Challenge!

As for my plan, I work out for 40-60 minutes 5-6 days a week. I was 5 days a week but upped it to 6 for the summer challenge and have kept that up and will probably keep keeping it up. Right now, I am finishing the C25K program (I'm registered for a 5k on October 28), so I run Monday, Wednesday and Friday, generally completing 3-4 miles in 35-45 minutes (today, I did 3.1 in 35 minutes -- I walked the first 5 minutes to warm up, then ran for 30). Tuesday and Thursday I usually do one or more videos -- circuit training/bootcamp style or kickboxing -- and/or strength training. Saturday I consider my fun day, so I do yoga or Wii Zumba or something else to break things up. I try to switch up my exercise every 4-8 weeks, but may stick with running 2-3 days a week for a while. In November, I am going to do a 30-day trial at a gym I can't afford to join (the 30 trial was $25 on LivingSocial), which has a pool. So I'll probably swim 2-3 days a week and maybe do a class here and there, along with running.

For diet, I try to keep myself between 1350-1600 calories per day but allow one day above range followed by one below (or at the low end). Typically, I end up at 2000-2500 on Sunday followed by 1000-1200 on Monday. As for what I eat, I try to be mindful, and I track everything, but I do not have off-limits foods. So I eat pizza or chocolate cake or whatever, but I try to do so on my high calorie day or make sure to keep portions in check and adjust my other meals around any indulgences. While not a diet per se, I also am a follower of the Hackers Diet method? plan? system? What this means is that I weigh myself daily and track the weighted average. (check out https://www.fourmilab.ch/cgi-b
in/HackDiet for more information, including the book, and for the web version of the tracking system) I do so online but also on a spreadsheet. The spreadsheet also tracks my daily calories, which I then use on an aggregate basis to determine the number of calories I burn in a day on a weekly basis. It's complicated, but I'm a numbers person (despite being a lawyer), and it really helps me know what my body is doing. Week-by-week my daily calories burned ranges from 1850-2500, with minimal variation in activity level, so I have learned that my metabolism is quite hormone-influenced (either that or very random).

As for the Challenge, I am super psyched for my second challenge as a Dawg! I will log my exercise and LTGL points daily and my weight weekly. I will also do my best to be supportive of my teammates as well by commenting on blogs and statuses and sparkpages.

Hackers Diet link: https://www.fourmilab.ch
/cgi-bin/HackDiet