Posts by germaica

Hi all,

I haven't done the goals this time around, but I'm already thinking about next time. I think I will practice my goals so I can be more successful next round. Good job to all those who are doing the 12 week challenge. Don't give up even if you haven't succeeded. It's a good thing to challenge ourselves, it's the only way change and grow (well slim down for most of us, lol).

Have a great week!

Caroline

Weekly Topic: I CAAANNNN'TTT, IT's HHHAAARRRDDD!!!!!! (finding positive speak)

One excuse I've been using is I'm sick.

Well I was sick for six weeks, so it was true. But I'm not anymore... yet I'm still using this excuse. It's time to break this bad habit. I will only truly start to feel better once I start exercising and eating healthy home cooked meals.

I will try and post more at my lunch break. Sorry for being late this week and thank you Sara for reminding me.

Caroline

Happy thanksgiving to all us Canadians!

We harvested 6lb of carrots Saturday from our community garden. What a great start to the weekend. I will probably be making carrot and orange soup today. Yum! I will post the recipe later this week if anyone is interested. Thanks Nannygabber for your soup recipe form last week, looks good! I LOVE soups, even more at this time of the year.

Welcome to the new WJ Becky and Sheila. Good luck with your goals.

I will re-start my running program this week. My goal is to walk 30 minutes 3 times this week. Today being a holiday will be great to start, sunny outside. Hopefully I can get back to where I was almost 6 weeks ago (running 14 minutes out of 30 minutes) fairly quickly.

Have a great week all!

Caroline

Hi everyone,

Just a quick word, I'm still sick. I guess I caught my hubby's bronchitis. I've been coughing for about 3 weeks, and getting tired of it. Will be seeing a doctor tonight. Thanks to Sara and carryonandon for the reminders to check in. I hope I will feel well soon. I haven't been able to exercise in about a month between my hubby being sick and myself.

Take care all,

Caroline

Hi everyone, sorry about not posting in 2 weeks. My husband suffered a fractured rib after a month long bout with bronchitis. After a few trips and 24 hr stay at the hospital, he is home resting. But I expect we may have to go back this weekend. I hope to have more time for posting this long weekend.

Thanks to Sara, Meri, Carryonandon and Vera for the reminders.

Caroline

I'm with you msmeg, I love taking walks and seeing the beauty around me. Doesn't cost a thing and I can do it everywhere. I like running too. I'm lucky to have a nature park with trails 5 minutes from my home. Swimming is fun too, but the weather this summer has been too cold.

Weekly check in: I missed one work out last week, bad planning. I had planned my last run for Saturday morning but I slept in. Then I thought would go after supper, but watched some movies instead. Hugh! Will make it up today and do 4 sessions this week, even if the extra doesn't count for the challenge, it counts for me. It's like a promise to myself that I have to keep.

Have a great week,

Caroline

Introducing Sara (aka supersized)

I'd like to introduce Sara, the creator and original Wagon Jumper. She, like me is Canadian and lives in Toronto, Ontario with her partner Chris. They share their home with a beagle, a sheppard and 3 cats. She works in communications.

Canadian fun facts: Ontario is one of the two largest provinces in the country (Quebec being the other one). It is the business and political hub of the country. The southern part has a warmer climate and therefore has many farms and wineries. Toronto is the largest city of the country and is a bustling multi-cultural metropolis.

Sara wanted to create a group with a sense of community and accountability. Many large groups lack this, people discuss mostly stats (lost xlb). And many small groups, based on weight, gender, location, couldn't keep their memberships up and fizzled after a few months. She wanted to create a group where people keep coming back. She hoped the group would last 6 months, well here we are 1 year later and going strong. More people wanted to join the original WJs and she struggled to find the right balance of members. I think she has found it, and I think this is what keeps attracting people to it. In Sara's words: "There are always going to be some members who leave, I am humbled that some members have stayed with the group over a year. That is truly amazing to me. Even more humbling is that we now have past members asking to return. That makes me feel like I am beginning to create a safe place for us to really engage with and overcome the challenges that often become obstacles to our goals, weight loss and otherwise."

Titbits: She's a geek like me and loves Science Fiction, Joss Whedon is a household icon (head writer of Buffy, creator of Angel, Firefly and Dollhouse). Loves politics and is running the leadership contest for the Green Party of her province. Passions include communications, networking and "finding ways for people to build traditional and non-traditional communities and hopefully link the two." No wonder Wagon Jumpers is such a success!

Long term goals include stop wagon jumping. Her weight loss would give her an exterior representation of this inner change. She is happy with her current success, but still has a way to go. So Sara should be around for another year. Let's see what this year shall bring.

Thanks for sharing some of your story with us.

Caroline

Sara you poor thing, a move is stressful enough on a good day. And looks like you got a really bad day, at least you found a truck. Hope your weekend goes better from now on.

Hi everyone,

Weekly check in: I did great last week and hit my 2 goals. Hubby has been so helpful. Just last night we went for our walk/run and I ran 4 minutes in a row. I've changed the way I run, slower to get my knees adjusted. I have also changed programs, I think C25K was too much for me. This one is 29 walk + 1 run, then you add 1 minutes every time you do it and take 1 minute off the walking, until you get to 30 minutes of running. It' been better for me. And with his encouragement I was able to do it. Plus I had more stamina and was less tired than last time. It's easier with him, I don't feel like people are looking or judging me for running so slow. He's there with me doing the same thing. Of course this is probably all in my head. Lol!

1/4 of the way in, unbelievable. I'm feeling great and I'm happy to say I'm doing great too. I've only used 1 of my 3 slack weeks. So I'm ready to take on the rest.

Good for you Dove, for getting back on track after a difficult emotional time. It's the hardest thing for all of us. Congrats for the weight loss!

I've just finished reading "The Best Life Diet" by Bob Greene. I really liked it. It's good for beginners and intermediates who don't know where to start and it's very organic. What I mean by that is that it's done in three stages to help you get accustomed to the changes and it's meant for the rest of your life. Not a get on get off thing. There is even built in space for treats. You let go of some bad stuff and add good stuff. The suggestions he makes are common sense, but explained in a great way and back up with scientific studies. I will be starting Stage One this week.

Gotta go, going to an amusement park today! Have a great one all!

My heart goes out to Dove and Defrog for your losses. I still miss my childhood pets.

Weekly check in: I did great last week and met my 2 goals. Yay! This success is very motivating for me.

Weekly topic: To stay on the wagon during vacation I try to choose activities that do double duty, fun and active. Like swimming in the ocean, walking while window shopping, nature walk, bike ride in the country.... Food wise that's harder. Last year we went to the Dominican Republic, they had a great buffet and I always loaded up on the salad and veggies before going to the meats and starches. I also paid close attention to what I was drinking. At least 2 glasses of water before a cocktail.

Have a great week everyone!

Hi all!

Weekly check-in: Did great for my maintenance goal, by missed completely with the workout portion. Guess that's why I built in slack weeks.

The weather in Montreal has been terrible, cold and rainy almost everyday. I stopped the C25K program. 2 reasons: bad weather (no gym) and knee pain. It started the second week of training. I think I was pushing myself too hard (running to fast?). I wonder what could cause this... Anyway too many reasons to procrastinate. So I will go back to walking (start power walking?) and the mini stepper. Maybe get my bike in order too.

I will enter a recipe soon to share.

Edit: Happy belated B-Day Sara.

Jessicaann hang in there, it's hard at first, but you know you did the right thing deep down.

Hi everyone,

Hooray to Lam7 for reaching your goals! Congratulations to all who participated. Here are my goals for this round.

Maintenance goal: Continue to eat 1 portion of high iron food 4 times a week. (Includes liver, beef, clams, oysters, beans, spinach, enriched cereals.) As doctor ordered. I can keep track with food logging of course.

New goal: exercise at least 3 times a week for 30 minutes for 9 out of the 12 weeks.

Thanks Sara for the 7 months congrats. Time sure flies by. I'm really happy to be a part of this group. In the last months I have learned about myself and have learned through all of your experiences. All of this is so enriching and inspiring. Thank you to all for your courage to share. And thank you to Sara for creating this awesome and safe heaven for us all.

And hey! It's the beginning of summer! Healthgain week to all.

Hey all!

Msmeg - Sorry to hear about your loss. You will be in my thoughts.

Sara - I find that doing bi-weekly food shopping works best for me. 1 big trip and a smaller 2nd one in case I forgot some stuff. And I usually do.

Jessicaann - I have started the C25K, I'm doing it with the podcast that Carrie (Raven - thanks!) recommended. It's great and encouraging. Especially at the end when you want to quit.

Weekly topic - I love to walk! It's almost meditative for me and centers me, kinda like the running for Carol. I have a nature park about 7 mins walk from my home. It's a great way to get away form my stress. I have gotten better with my endurance thanks to the walks I take. And my husband likes to come along with me, so it's even better.

I hope running will become as important to me as walking. I did the first week of C25k, but did not do the last run. It felt like I had cement feet, they where so heavy. Plus I don't think I was running much faster than walking. But I'm not discouraged, I will build up strenght, endurance and speed with time. It feels like a great workout, I hurt all over, I feel muscles I don't usually notice and I was sweating! Lol!

I used to do a lot of aerobic dancing when I was a teenager. I loved the music and the dancing. But I realize now that I was not pushing myself enough during the workout. I stayed in the easy zone, I didn't bend my knees deeply or did the full range of motion required. I also don't have enough room right now to do some DVDs at home (I used to do the Jane Fonda tape). I might look into an aerobics class though, but I like being outside in the summer. Maybe for winter or late fall.

I have a mini stepper that I used during the winter. I only like it because it's convenient and I can watch TV while I do it. Otherwise it would be too boring. That's why I don't really like the gym, it's dull for me.

Have a great week Wagon Jumpers!

Thank you so much Julie for that inspiring article. I have copied it so I can read it over and over. I realize now that I make an insurmountable mountain (in my self talk) out of a series of healthy choices that I should make. So of course I feel overwhelmed and discouraged! I keep telling my unconscious that I'm a failure, that I can't do it. Hey! knowledge is power only if I act on it. So I'm glad to say that since reading your post I have been motivated to make healthy food choices and start logging again.

You are a great motivator girl, thanks again!

Welcome, Jacqueline and Meri to the group. I have been with WJ for 6 months! Thanks for the lovely PM Sara reminding me about it, I totally forgot. I have realized an important lesson as of late. I need the 12 week challenge. I don't like to compete, but I do like doing things as a group. That challenge was a great way for me to stay on track. I would never have thought that this king of thing would be so helpful for me. This is just one of the great benefits of this group. I have learned from many of the members here that educating myself on health, body, exercise, nutrition, emotions... is really important in helping to understand my body and how to get what I want out of it.

Weekly topic: One of the ways I know my motivation is slipping is when doing good things for me (good food, exercise, focus on myself and my needs) becomes a burden for me instead of helpful, stress relieving, adds to my life.

Solution: I know that self talk is important in how I view this, in a positive light or a negative light. If my self talk is negative I will most probably blow off doing my exercise, sticking to the plan, eating right, to better relax in front of the TV, eat some junk food. This is not helping in reaching my goals. It's like I loose perspective, long term vision, my focus.

Other than that I don't know what else to do. I can't rely on my feelings (I will do it when I feel like it). They are pointing me towards the fries! Lol! I guess a more logical or planned approach would be better for me that an organic, feeling approach.

Any ideas? I haven't read the posts yet, will do so now.

Have a great week all!